Daylight
by MorningSnow03
Summary: Hermione wakes to find herself in a strange country with little information on how she arrived, Draco is the Deputy Headmaster of the school nearby, can she trust in his help?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter Universe, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Orange light flickering as consciousness returned. _Don't take a deep breath, continue breathing normally. Don't move, body, stay relaxed. Am I captured?_ A quick check for pain anywhere, none. No bindings.

Cracking an eye open, a fire a few feet away nearly blinding her. Through barely opened eyes, she glanced around and saw no one. _Was that all a dream?_ Grogginess made her thoughts seem coherent. Eyes opened a bit more, still no one. Nothing but the sounds of wood popping in the fire and a soft murmur of a stream behind her. No sounds of breathing or footsteps.

She glanced around as much as she could without moving, saw no one. Decided to sit up and figure out where she was. A tent to her right, another to her left. _Well, I'm not alone, that's for sure._

"Woah, there, young lady. You feelin' alright?" A male voice asked from behind her with an American accent.

She whipped her head around to see a skinny dark-skinned man wearing shorts and a tank top. His hair was cropped short- or he was bald- from what she could see, but most of his head and face were covered by a baseball cap. He was coming out of the woods holding toilet paper and she almost wanted to laugh at how he was frozen mid-step.

"I'm not in any pain, if that's what you meant. Who are you? And where am I?" She asked, trying to still her rapidly beating heart. She couldn't feel the wand sheath she usually had on the left side of her rib cage. Her hand itched to reach for the empty space, but she wasn't sure if he was Muggle or not. _He is definitely camping like one. And what is an American doing… here? Bloody hell, Where am I?_

He held his hands out palms facing her and told her reassuringly, "My name is Luis. You're in Texas. I'm going to come sit over there, if you don't mind. I'm not holding you captive and I'm not here to hurt you." He seemed to understand her fears.

"Alright," She told him uncomfortably. She shifted to sit with her legs crossed, grateful she was wearing Muggle jeans today. "What in the world am I doing in America?" She muttered to herself as he came closer. She watched him sit, and asked him, "You don't have a Texas accent, do you?"

He smiled thinly, "No that accent you see in movies and T.V. are not what we all sound like. My parents moved a lot when I was a kid. I just live here, you know, not really by choice. The wife doesn't have one either."

"You're married? You look so young." She stated. Looking at him, he seemed much younger than her. He had a large nose, full lips and big eyes set on a small face. He was very thin, but in the firelight she could see the shading suggesting muscle on his arms.

He glanced at the tent to her left before answering. "Yeah, we've been married for about six months. I'm 27, not that young. What's your name?"

She looked at him, surprised at his age, then answered, "Hermione Granger. How did I end up here?"

"Well, I was hoping you could tell us that. Good morning, Hermione. You don't mind I call you that do you?" A tall pale girl was stepping out of the tent as she spoke. As she stood straight, she looked at Hermione with interest. Her face seemed young too, but Hermione could not figure her age, probably because of her dark framed glasses. She looked at Hermione with an intense stare, or maybe Hermione was just not used to her directness.

"No, not at all. I don't remember what I'm doing here." The tall girl was sitting as Hermione spoke. "It's morning?" Hermione asked the girl.

She looked at her cell phone, Hermione was pleased to see. At least Hermione could call her parents if she needed to. "7:00 in the morning to be precise. The sun will be rising shortly. I'm Primrose, by the way. You can call me Rose if you like." Her eyes were examining Hermione closely. "Great Britain, by the accent. What's the last thing you remember?"

Hermione thought back, looking into the fire. "I was headed to a friend's house. Someone came from behind and spoke but… I don't know the voice. And then waking up here…"

Primrose frowned. "What year is it?"

"2009."

Rose's frown relaxed, "And who's the friend you were going to see?"

"Luna."

"Where does she live?"

"Edinburgh. It wasn't that far from where I was staying for the week."

"So how in the world… What day was it, can you remember?"

"Wednesday, April 14." Hermione answered.

Primrose and Luis looked at each other with identical looks of surprise. "What time?" Luis asked, looking back at Hermione slowly.

"It was about noon. I was going to have lunch with Luna and go back to the hotel…" Hermione answered, still confused.

Primrose was doing something on her phone. After a moment, just before Hermione got impatient with their slowness, Primrose looked at her, shocked. She stared at her for a full minute it seemed, before Luis asked her, "What?"

"She showed up in our campsite an hour ago, right?"

"Yes." Luis was frowning.

"That means she arrived in Texas almost instantaneously. Hermione. Today is April 14, 2009. In your time zone it is 1:00 in the afternoon. You have been here for an hour. How is that possible, unless-" She stopped herself and looked at Hermione closely. "I have a question for you. Just answer yes or no. Do you know what the word 'Muggle' means?"

Hermione was surprised. The people before her did not seem like Wizards. They seemed Muggle to the core. She whispered, "Yes."

"But how the hell did you Apparate without your wand?" Luis asked.

She looked between them. "You're a Wizard?"

"Well, of course we are." Primrose unsheathed her wand from her back and Luis did the same from under his shirt.

Hermione could feel excitement and curiosity bubbling up within her. "Well, I had my wand before I arrived here. I remember…" The memory came crowding into her mind, she had pulled her wand to confront the voice which challenged her.

"So then. We will need to find a way to get you back. I know, the school is only a little ways away, they should have some ideas. I don't think the Floo works over the Atlantic…"

"School?" Hermione asked.

Primrose smiled. "Of course the school for Wizards in Texas. I teach Herbology there."

"And I run the kitchens." Luis added. "Speaking of, hungry?" He asked Hermione.

"A bit. I've always wanted to try American food." She said.

The married couple laughed, "American? Honey you're in Texas, we make Tex-Mex and Bar-B-Que." Primrose said through giggles.

Hermione grinned, certain they weren't making fun of her. They seemed to be letting her in on a joke.

After a moment, Primrose stood and stretched. "Well then, Hermione, care to go for a walk while Luis cooks?"

Hermione stood also, feeling tiny in comparison to the tall woman. Hermione's head barely came to Primrose's collarbone. Primrose dipped her head to peck Luis on the lips before they set out.

"How tall are you, Rose, if you don't mind me asking?" Hermione said, nervous that Primrose may be irritated with the question.

"6 feet. Let me think, you use the metric system, so that would be… 180 centimeters? Something like that. I'm no good with math." She waved her hand dismissively. "Doesn't matter. I'm not part-giant or anything, I'm just tall." She was walking through a path silently. The sun was beginning to rise, so everything was in varying shades of grey. "Up ahead we'll be able to see the school. Just figured I'd let you have some time to figure out some stuff if you need it."

There was a break in the ugly and twisted trees making up the grove she had woken in. She could see the rosy light of the morning through the leaves and wisps of clouds illuminated in a rich golden hue. Then the trees were suddenly no longer surrounding them, as though the trees had a barrier they could not cross. There was about a meter of clear sight between the end of the trees and the sheer drop of a cliff. They were about 20 meters above a valley still lying in shadow, awaiting the dawn to break. From where they stood, the sun was just peeking over the horizon.

Hermione looked around her in wonder, they seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. There was an adobo building in the valley before her, and nothing else seemed to be man-made. Groves of trees dotted the flat land and a couple of lakes shone in the rising light. There was a herd of animals walking slowly across the greenest part of the field. Hermione pointed at them, "What are those?"

Primrose looked at them for a moment, "Jackalopes, likely. They seem far away, but they are not that far. Only a couple herds survive these days. That group looks like it might be getting on well... As long as the Chupacabras don't escape their pen."

"I thought the Chupacabra ate goats?" Hermione asked.

Primrose smiled and met Hermione's eyes briefly. In a faux scary voice, she answered, "They eat anything with blood," While saying it, she made like she was going to chase Hermione with her fingers raised.

Now that the light was beginning to become more pronounced, Hermione looked at the witch. She was pale, as Hermione had already noticed, but freckled too. Her face was beautiful with high cheekbones and full lips. Her bare arms were scarred in several places, most of them old, one across her bicep looked to be recently healed. Hermione thought to ask about it, but decided not to, yet. She watched as the witch smoothed back her long auburn hair into a bun at the base of her neck. Rose glanced over and met Hermione's eyes with a humored expression, "I'm already married you know, and I don't swing that way, honey."

Hermione laughed and blushed, "Nor I," She answered. "That's the school there?" She asked, changing topics, pointing at the building.

"Yes. 'Missions School for Wizards and Witches'. America has about ten schools across the country. Texas is so large, we are the only state with our own. We have about 75 students entered each year. Somewhere around 500 is our student body. How long since you graduated? Where were you schooled?"

Hermione smiled and glanced up at the taller woman, "I graduated about 10 years ago, from Hogwarts."

Primrose's eyes lit up, "So then you knew Harry Potter?"

Hermione smiled, "He's a good friend actually."

"Shit!" Primrose stepped back and looked at her anew, "Of course! Hermione Granger! How the hell did I miss that? The Deputy Headmaster will be pleased to see a friend, I think."

"Oh? Why is that?" Hermione said with a laugh.

"He graduated the same year as you. Maybe you know him too, Draco Malfoy?"

Hermione looked at her in shock. "Surely, you're kidding."

Primrose frowned briefly, "I'm sure he told me it was Hogwarts. You don't know him?"

"I do. It's just…" Hermione looked across the valley at the school again. "He was not exactly the type I would imagine being Deputy Headmaster. Or anything other than in Azkaban."

"Azkaban? Why would you think he'd be in prison?" Primrose's face showed a lot of surprise at Hermione's statements.

Hermione looked at Primrose fully in the now full sunlight shining on it. Primrose's icy blue eyes were wide behind her glasses. "Because he was a Death Eater." Hermione answered simply.

Primrose scoffed, "Oh, that. He turned to the Light side in the end, everyone knows that."

"He what?" Hermione was shocked. Primrose had said it like it was common knowledge, but Hermione's former bully had disappeared with his family after the Final Battle. No one knew where he had gone. Hermione herself was not concerned with what had happened to him. To even hear his name now only brought a reserved interest for her. She had simply not thought of him in so long she barely remembered what he looked like other than his hair. But even her reserved interest bloomed suddenly into real interest, now that this tall witch was informing her that Hermione's opinion may be wrong.

Primrose looked slightly uncomfortable. "Perhaps you should ask him yourself. I never feel comfortable talking about other people's decisions. It was a devastating time for him, and I'm not sure he would like me to tell you about it without his permission."

Hermione stared out across the valley for a moment, and Primrose stood with her arms crossed across her chest. Hermione pondered her position. Without her wand, she couldn't Apparate- even with permission. She only had about 20 Galleons with her, so she could probably not buy a new one. She had never asked, nor could remember reading anything about how far an elf could transport, so that would have to be asked about. Primrose had already mentioned the Floo probably didn't work over the Atlantic. She might be able to have her parents wire her some money to fly back, if no other options were reasonable. With that settled she began to think about Malfoy. Harry would be interested to know where he was, since he had spent so much time worrying about the boy during their school years.

A meow brought them both back from their thoughts. "Well, hello, Mjölnir." Primrose crooned as she squatted down with a hand out to the bright orange cat. The cat stroked his face against her fingers and looked up at Hermione with intelligent orange eyes. "That's Hermione. Hermione, my familiar Mjölnir." She said with a wink to Hermione.

Hermione crouched down to the large cat and extended her hand to him. He sniffed her fingers for a moment, examining her face as he did so. Hermione thought the cat was smarter than your average housecat. He suddenly rubbed his face on her hand and let her scratch his chin, closing his eyes and purring loudly in ecstasy. Primrose laughed.

"Seems he likes you, Hermione. Normally he's distrustful for a while." Primrose told her. Looking at the cat again, she suddenly stood. "I think breakfast is ready."

They walked back quickly, the smell of bacon growing as they got closer to the campsite. Mjölnir led the way down the path with his tail held high.

"After breakfast I think we should have another look around for your wand, Hermione." Primrose said over her shoulder as they walked. "We didn't think you were a witch, because of your clothing."

Hermione looked at Primrose's clothes and thought them Muggle-made. "Well, you're wearing Muggle clothing." She pointed out, dodging a tree branch.

"Well, I'm Muggle-born. If memory serves, you are too."

"I am. What about Luis?"

"His father is pure-blooded, from Mexico. His mother is a Muggle. We had just gone to see her for the weekend. So we had to dress the part."

"Do you wear robes?" Hermione asked.

"When winter comes, yes. The summers are so hot here, we'd all get heatstroke, even with Cooling Charms. So in the summer, we have the students wear the school uniforms without robes and teachers dress in similar uniforms, different colors. Last year we had that Pureblooded Wizard from the north, you remember Luis?" They had just entered the campsite.

He chuckled over the fire where he was cooking. "He wound up wearing a woman's dress thinking they were summer robes."

Hermione laughed outright, imagining Slughorn wearing a woman's dress.

They ate, broke down the camping equipment and headed down a different path sloping downwards. "You were down here a ways. Rose was looking for a certain type of mushroom native to the area for her fourth year class. It can only be harvested before dawn but after moonset," Luis informed her. "She carried you back up the hill, terrified. She thought you were dead."

Primrose was looking off in the distance, not seeming to be paying attention. She had a strange expression on her face, like she was daydreaming. Mjölnir was following her.

"Off to the right, Luis," Primrose said. "See the broken branch? That's where I cut my arm."

Hermione looked back at Primrose curiously. "Fixed already, I hope, Rose?"

Primrose nodded and smiled vaguely.

The area where Hermione had appeared had broken branches and flattened underbrush in an outward pattern from where Primrose told her she was lying. It resembled a bomb explosion without char marks.

Hermione looked around in wonder for a few seconds before Primrose began to speak to her, "See, you were kind of huddled here, and I couldn't find your pulse. So I picked you up and carried you to the camp in a panic. I didn't think to look for a wand or anything, I thought you had been attacked by someone or something. In the light, now, look at the trees! I don't know what kind of magic you used, but it was very powerful. Apparition doesn't do this. Sorry, am I babbling?" She stopped talking and stared around her in shock.

Luis touched her shoulder affectionately and seemed to pull her back into the moment. "You did the right thing. The magic is weird here, huh?" Primrose nodded at her husband and they both looked at Hermione.

Mjölnir was sitting and looking at them wisely from the path. He seemed interested in what was happening, but not in coming into the circle of broken branches. His tail was flicking back and forth in agitation. He jumped when Hermione found her wand among broken shrubbery a few feet from the center of the center of the pattern, and let out a celebratory shout.

"I've found it!" Hermione said.

"Good. Let's go to the Mission and see if we can get you an Apparition authorization," Luis said.

They followed the path downward to the plain below. The day was already heating up and the air was thick with humidity. Hermione carried her jumper over her arm. The gnats and mosquitoes irritated her until Primrose remembered to cast a charm to repel them for her. "Sorry," Primrose said sheepishly afterwards, "Didn't think about it."

Hermione laughed lightly and told her, "Don't worry. I'll know it for next time."

They stepped out of the trees into the valley's sunlit landscape. Hermione was happy to see the Mission was only a little over a kilometer away. The grassy plain was filled with long grass waving in the breeze and a few groves of trees, all huddled together. They were traveling along a well-worn path through the grass which came to Hermione's hip.

Primrose told her as they walked in single file across the quiet landscape, "This is how Texas was before it started to be settled. The German settlers brought some Muggleborns with them to the area, the English and Spaniards brought some Pureblooded Witches and Wizards too. The school was started by the English, the Spaniards wanted nothing to do with it at first, but they came around and the Germans were treated badly at first. It wasn't until the Texas Revolution that the Mission became a permanent refuge for the children. Everyone mostly gets along now. Some Purebloods like to cause trouble now and then, but Voldemort's cause was mostly lost on American Wizards. It was quite a shock for us when we went to England the first time. That was about two years ago. All the Wizards are so formal there! It's so archaic. And the way they treat their elves!"

"I know what you mean. When I started Hogwarts it was like a whole new world. I'm used to it now, but I still try to get the elves treated better," Hermione answered.

"I always like to think it was the Slave trade so prevalent in America that made us treat them nicely. Did you know that Lincoln was a Wizard?" Luis added from the front of Primrose.

Hermione was surprised, "He's the one that was assassinated right? President during the Revolution? No… it was the Civil War, right?"

"Yeah, the Civil War. He was the first President of Muggle America and the Director of Magical America at the same time. He was a fascinating man," Primrose said.

"And who is the Director now?" Hermione asked, curiously. American History was not something she had studied in depth. Not much about American Magic even travelled to Britain except for the occasional mention in the Prophet.

"His name is Zach Popham, from an old Wizarding family." Primrose answered with a shrug. "He's got little to deal with other than his re-election campaign starting next year. He's a Pro- Muggle life kind of guy. Trying to get the schools recognized by the Muggles as private schools so the kids can transition easier into Muggle life. That's been his biggest platform for a few terms now." Primrose cleared her throat and asked Hermione, "So will you be trying to go back right away or stay for a few days?"

"Well, I had taken the week off anyway, conveniently. I need to report the attack and then maybe I'll stay. Someone did attack me. And there's so much to learn here. I don't know. I guess it's up to how the bureaucracy works here." Hermione said, looking off in the distance.

"You seem awful blasé about this. You sure you're ok?" Primrose said, looking over her shoulder at the short witch.

Hermione smiled. "I've had enough life-and-death situations in my life. I don't really see the reason to jump into this one."

Primrose looked at her for another moment. "Well," She said, "You're welcome to stay I'm sure. The Mission doesn't look too big, but there are many floors below the ground. It's much cooler that way." They were approaching the outer walls of the courtyard as Primrose told her this.

There were the sounds of children seemed to come from some distance, but at the same time floating over the walls, and Hermione felt comforted by the sounds. It was like being back at Hogwarts all over again.

They stepped under the archway covering the gate, and as they did so the children came into their vision. Hermione was impressed by the magic of it. Looking at the Mission from the outside, it seemed empty and abandoned. Once they crossed the threshold, the courtyard seemed to grow and become at least triple the size it appeared to be from the outside, and there were about fifty children talking and laughing in the morning sun.

"Mrs. Hernandez!" Called several of the children as they ran up to greet their teacher.

"Oh, kids, its Sunday for heaven's sake. You know you're allowed to call me Rose on the weekends." Primrose said with a laugh, hugging several of the kids as they came up to greet her.

"Yes Mrs. Hernandez, we know that," Said one brown-skinned boy, the same height as Luis already. His accent was thick, and Hermione had trouble understanding exactly what he was saying. "But we are also supposed to respect our elders," He said with a grin.

"All right, alright," Primrose said over the kids' giggles, "Just don't ever call me Dona Hernandez, or I'll flunk you faster than you can say tiddlywinks," Primrose said, accenting the pronunciation of the title strangely to Hermione's ears.

"What does that mean?" Asked a skinny girl with jet black hair and pale skin like Primrose's.

"It's a term of respect for very old ladies. Like your grandmother," Primrose answered with a smile. "Alright guys, I have to go see the Headmaster. Let us get by, let us go," She stepped past them, and turned around with her eyebrow raised, "Did you guys already finish your reports due tomorrow?"

The whole group groaned together.

"Well, you know they are due. Go get to the library, everyone, go on."

The kids raced into the arched doorway before them, and Hermione couldn't help but smile. Luis offered to take the bags down to their rooms while Primrose took Hermione to the Headmaster.

_A/N: Ok, I feel very apprehensive about how this story will be received. I saw a thing online which mentioned there wasn't really a big Wizarding community in America. So, I thought, 'Why the hell not?' and started writing this. Is it weird that Draco is in Texas? Yes. But, he'll tell us in the next chapter why he's here. Hermione has to figure out how she ended up here, what Draco's doing in Texas and who attacked her. Was it a random attack? A targeted one? Will the attacker follow her? Should she be suspicious of Draco?_

_I got great responses from , and I'm trying to get myself to finish this story. Maybe you guys can help me with that. So far I'm up to Ch. 14, I will be posting a new chapter here every 2-3 days. _

_Tell me what you think! Reviews are welcome!_


	2. Chapter 2

In the shady interior of the mission, Hermione could almost believe she had been overreacting to the heat outside. The walls inside the building blocked out most of the sunlight from outside, but the open windows still let in the warm breezes. Primrose led the way to some stairs to one side of what appeared to be an ancient- but well maintained- altar. The building was filled with what might be described as pews, oiled faithfully over the years, their wood shining in the muted light.

"Some kids are Christians, so a priest comes weekly to preach for them. He's blind, so he just thinks he's in any normal church. He's a kind man, but he always tries to convert anyone who is not of his religion." Primrose explained as they descended the cloth covered steps.

Hermione asked, "So you're not one, I take it?"

Primrose scoffed, turning to face Hermione in the stairwell, she said, "Of course not. The Bible says… well, look I make a rule not to talk about it. I'm aware that lots of people believe in it, but I am not one. Let's leave it at that, ok?"

Hermione smiled and nodded. Primrose turned and continued down the circular stairs. Primrose came to the bottom first and smiled at someone around the corner Hermione couldn't see. "Ah, Father Hauser. Guten tag."

"Guten Morgen, Señora Hernandez." An old and tired sounding voice answered. Hermione came around the corner and saw an old man stooped over a cane, wearing all black. When he turned she saw the notched collar and his sightless eyes.

"Hermione, this is Father Hauser." Primrose introduced them politely. The old man shifted his weight and reached out a hand in Rose's direction.

"It's nice to meet you, sir," Hermione said stepping in front of Rose to shake his hand.

"Sorry to rush off, Father, but Hermione must meet with the Headmaster. Good day to you." Primrose said, gently. She motioned to Hermione to follow and Hermione told the priest goodbye. As they began descending the stairs, Primrose told her, "The first floor is all student housing. We'll have to go down a few more flights before we get to the Headmaster's office. Got questions? Ask away."

"You speak German?" Hermione asked.

"Yep and Spanish, Latin, French, and obviously English," Primrose answered. "I studied Philosophy in a Muggle school while getting my teaching degree for the Magical side. I could never decide which one is more interesting."

They came to another stairwell, this one also had covered stairs and now Hermione could see the familiar moving paintings along the walls. Some of the paintings began whispering behind them, gossiping about her, probably. "You don't need to learn that many languages for Philosophy," Hermione remarked.

"No, but I find it more interesting to read the ideas in the philosopher's native tongue than to depend on a translator who might be… misunderstanding the premises." Primrose answered stiffly.

Hermione wondered why Primrose acted so strangely about her comment, but dismissed it for the time being. "My French and German are rusty, but Latin is used in a lot of potion making. The Spanish is probably very helpful down here, right?"

Primrose seemed more relaxed as she said, "It is. It's very hard on the children of immigrants who don't know enough English to get by. So myself and a few other teachers who speak both offer tutoring to those students who need it. We also will teach anyone who wants to learn Spanish. Then we pair them together to try and get them used to their non-native language. Oh, hello, Anthony." She said to a tall man going the other direction.

"Mornin', Rose," He answered in a deep timbre with an accent Hermione associated with Texas. He touched his forehead, making a small salute gesture to Hermione as he passed without a word to her. He looked like a cowboy to Hermione, and even was carrying a cowboy hat under his arm. He was wearing jeans and a plaid long-sleeved shirt.

"Teacher of Magical Creatures," Rose answered Hermione's unvoiced question. "He's got to wrangle the horses for the student's class tomorrow."

"Oh." Hermione said. They both continued downward. There was noise coming from the bottom of the stairs, a dull roar of many people talking. Hermione began to smell eggs and bacon mixed with pancakes and maple syrup, and some other scents she did not recognize. They reached the bottom and crossed a hallway leading to a dining hall, Hermione noticed. There was yet another stairwell they followed, further down. The air was becoming cooler the further they descended, but Hermione would still be more comfortable in shorts in the temperature.

Rose was taking the stairs slowly, and Hermione realized she was probably giving her time to ask questions. "So what is the Headmaster like?" She asked, and then added, "And what is his name?"

"His name is Thom Greene. He's nice. A little crazy, though. He's about 70 or so would be my guess. He's a Pureblood, but he's not crazy about admitting it. He married a Muggleborn long before it was accepted widely, and outside of his ethnicity. He's widely viewed as being ahead of his time, which I would mostly agree with. He's been Headmaster for about fifteen years, and has definitely helped the students a lot. He's very interested in getting to know all of his students and staff."

"How should I address him? My Headmaster, we called Professor Dumbledore. Is that how you would?"

"Mr. Greene is fine, he's not too big on being proper." Rose answered. "Mr. Malfoy was really weird about it when he first met him, is that an English thing?"

Hermione laughed, "Yes, I think it must be. Even to have your students calling you by your first name is weird."

Primrose smiled, "I hear Mrs. Hernandez and I just get all weirded out. I'm not _that_ much older than them. I was young to hold my position, so it's always been a thing to me."

"How old were you when you got the job?"

"25. Been here for three years in August. Oh!" She turned and looked at Hermione with her hand covering her mouth and her eyes wide, "I just revealed my age, the shame I've brought on myself!"

Hermione laughed outright and answered, "I won't tell."

"Good," Rose said with a smile. They reached the bottom of the stairs and Rose turned. She put her hands on her hips and glowered at whoever was around the corner. Primrose cleared her throat loudly and Hermione heard a female cry of surprise. "Having fun are we? Detention the both of you. You, Stuart will go upstairs and find Professor Drilb and give him this," She waved her wand and a parchment appeared before her. Another wave and the parchment floated over and out of Hermione's line of sight.

She was curious what Rose had found but the tall woman was standing right at the bottom of the narrow steps and Hermione didn't have enough room to get around her onto the landing.

"And, Amelia, find Mr. Garcia in the kitchens and give him this," She made another parchment and waved it over to the girl. Rose stepped further into the room and Hermione followed finally seeing a boy roughly 17 and a girl who looked about 14, both red-faced and looking at the floor. The girl's hair was mussed and the boy's shirt was untucked.

"Shame on the both of you. Amelia, stay here for a second, Stuart, go find Professor Drilb." She pointed to the stairs. The boy ran up the stairs and Rose listened to his receding footsteps for a moment. "Amelia," She began, her tone gentle but disappointed at the same time. "Why are you making out with a boy so much older than you?"

The girl sniffled and looked up at her teacher quickly before staring at the floor once more. "Because he told me he liked me." She answered in a tight voice.

"Do you make out with every boy who says he likes you? Is that a rule of being a teenager?"

"No, ma'am." The girl said wiping away a tear.

Primrose put her hand on the girl's shoulder, "I'm not telling you that you did anything wrong, but you always have to remember that some boys will take advantage of you if you're not careful. Especially the older boys. That boy is mean to you, you just told me that last week. And now he likes you? I don't think he really does, Amelia. If he starts spreading nasty rumors, you come see me."

"But if I didn't do anything wrong, why did I get detention?" The girl asked looking up at her teacher.

Primrose smiled evilly, "You didn't. When you look at your paper, you'll see I've asked my husband's assistant to give you an ice cream." The girl looked at the paper and smiled. "You know you shouldn't be making out in the corridors, right?" Amelia nodded. "Go for someone closer to your age next time. And don't be afraid to ask a boy out. You don't seem like a shy person to me."

"Thank you, Rose." Amelia whispered and turned to go. She spotted Hermione and blushed anew, then began walking down the corridor behind her.

Hermione looked at Primrose with respect. "So why did the boy get detention and the girl an ice cream?" She asked.

Rose sighed. "That boy did a nearly identical trick two weeks ago on another girl. He got caught making out with her and got detention, and rather than owning up to it, he started bragging about banging the girl to the entire school. I sent him to Anthony who will make sure the boy stinks enough that no one would believe him. Come on, one more flight of stairs and we're where we need to be." She turned to the stairwell.

Hermione laughed, remembering Blaise Zabini getting caught snogging some girl. He had tried the same trick. _Teenagers __**really**__ never change_, she reflected with a grin.

This stairwell was carpeted as well, and as they descended, Hermione felt like it was much colder down here. "Is it always this cold down here?" She asked Primrose.

"Yeah, there's Cooling Charms now. Mr. Greene and Mr. Malfoy like it cold. I could make a joke about how they are so cold-hearted, but it just wouldn't be true." Primrose said with a laugh.

Hermione pondered this for a few minutes, Malfoy was definitely cold-hearted, from what she could remember. His sneer, bullying words and how he was always trying to get Harry killed proved _that_ enough. Primrose had a high opinion of him though, or so it seemed. "Primrose, what do you think of Malfoy?" She asked quietly, near the bottom of the steps.

Primrose stopped walking and Hermione nearly walked into her. She looked over her shoulder at Hermione, with a raised eyebrow. "Well, that's an interesting question," She answered in a low voice. She leaned casually against the wall, deep in thought. "He's brilliant, quiet, he's kind when he wants to be, keeps to himself, and does his job. We've had him over for dinner a few times, and he's a wonderful conversationalist." She looked at Hermione and in response to her astonished face asked her, "I take it he was not like that in school?"

"No. Not at all. He was a bully and tried like hell to always be the center of attention. Are you sure he's really Draco Malfoy?"

Primrose smiled, "Yes. He's had a hard life since you knew him. Do you honestly think you would be described the same now as you may have been described in school?"

Hermione thought about it for a minute. "No, I suppose I wouldn't be."

"And do you really think he would be the same?"

"Well, yes. He's a rich boy. They don't change their stripes."

Primrose raised an eyebrow, "Well, maybe he was never really a rich boy, then," She turned and continued down the steps, apparently considering the matter closed.

Hermione absently followed suit, considering what Primrose had meant. Could it be that Lucius was not as influential as he acted? She remembered Buckbeak and Lucius' involvement in his trial. She thought about how easily Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy had been sentenced to the Dementor's Kiss. She had always thought their trial had gone too easily and had chalked it up to Lucius' frozen assets. Maybe that wasn't so true. She made a mental vow to think about it later.

However, given that Primrose was the only person offering a differing opinion from her own, she decided that it would be too hasty of a decision to simply believe the tall witch. If she didn't hear it from multiple sources, she reasoned, then it's only one opinion which holds no merit in light of the massive amounts of evidence she could bring up to the contrary. She nodded to herself in satisfaction at her decision.

She saw that Primrose, a few steps ahead of her, had reached the bottom and was smiling at whoever was around the corner. "Oh, good morning, Mr. Malfoy." Primrose said at the bottom of the steps. "We were just talking about you." Again Rose stood at the bottom of the steps, blocking Hermione from entering the room. She was nervous to see Malfoy again, unsure of what to think about the strange situation she found herself.

"That's never a good thing, in my experience," Came Malfoy's familiar drawling response. "Who, pray tell is 'we', Mrs. Hernandez?"

"If you can believe it, an old schoolmate of yours. May I re-introduce you to Hermione Granger?"

Hermione stepped off the stair as Primrose said her name, trying not to laugh at Primrose's absurd introduction. She watched Malfoy stand, towering over his desk. His hair had an air of being brushed back over his ear recently. Hermione noted it was still as blonde as she remembered it. His face was hard, unreadable, but his eyebrows were raised in what was probably shock. He was wearing a long sleeved silky looking button-up shirt and still had a quill in his hand as he stared at her for a few seconds.

She stared back, trying to keep her face blank and resisting the urge to flatten her hair down with her hand. She was self-conscious about her hair because of all the snide comments he had always made about her unruly mane. She had long ago chopped it to be just touching her shoulders and invested in potions to make it silky and wavy. She styled it now so it was elegantly framing her face.

She was still holding her jumper over her arm, she had meant to put it on before reaching the bottom of the stairs, but the conversation she just finished with Primrose had driven the thought out of her mind. Now she wished she had, she felt uncomfortable at being so bare in front of him. Her camisole showed her curves, but his intense stare made her feel all but naked before him.

"Well, this is unexpected. Ms. Granger." He nodded while saying her surname.

"For the both of us, I assure you, Mr. Malfoy." She said, nodding to him in return.

Primrose seemed to notice the uncomfortable greeting and broke in, "Is Mr. Greene in? We need to discuss Miss Granger's… situation." She emphasized the 'Miss" slightly, probably trying to correct Malfoy, Hermione thought.

"He is," Malfoy said, still looking at Hermione. "Let me show you in."

He stood straight and put his quill down, looking at it like it was foreign to him. Turning toward the hallway, he led them down to a pair of large oak doors. He knocked once and then opened both doors before him.

"Mr. Greene, Mrs. Hernandez and Miss Granger are here to see you." He stood to the side, respectfully. Hermione followed Primrose into the room which was covered in books and artifacts on shelves built into the wall.

There was a large painting of a Wizard behind the desk with the chair facing it. The painting watched them enter and looked down at the chair, "We shall continue this discussion later, I hope, Thom?" The wizard in the painting said. At the chair's occupant's response, he stood from his chair and walked out of the frame.

The chair turned to reveal a very short old man with small tufts of hair poking straight out from under his hat. He was dressed in canary yellow robes with a matching pointed hat. "Rosie!" He said with a grin. His voice was very high pitched.

Through her answering grin, she whispered to Hermione, "I hate being called Rosie."

Thom was getting up from his chair with some difficulty. Hermione wanted to ask if he needed help, but thought it might be rude. He managed it and said to Malfoy, "Come in, young man, sit in on the meeting, please. I have a feeling you might have some input."

Malfoy nodded and closed the doors. Mr. Green walked around the table and stood before the two women, barely reaching Hermione's navel. He held out his hand to Hermione and told her with a grin, "Miss Granger it's nice to meet you. What brings you to my door? Here have a seat." He motioned to the chairs behind him.

Malfoy came around and pulled out the chair for Rose and Hermione in turn. Hermione tried not to think about it. Rose had said several times that he was very proper, and in Britain, she wouldn't have thought twice about it. She gave Malfoy a brief smile before sitting, his expression was the same, hard and unreadable.

Mr. Greene walked around the desk again and got back on the chair with the aid of a step stool, Hermione noticed. Malfoy waved his wand and a tray with water and some candies in a bowl appeared on the desk. Then he sat down in a chair next to the Headmaster's desk. He seemed tense, or maybe he was just naturally stiff, Hermione thought, watching him out of the corner of her eye.

Hermione watched all of this and then when everyone was settled, she told the Headmaster about the circumstances of her arrival in America.

Both Mr. Green and Malfoy were frowning by the end of her short tale, Mr. Green said, "Well, it's fortunate indeed that you found your wand, of course. But you have no memory of how you transported between here and Edinburgh?"

"None at all, sir. I heard a strange voice and then I woke up next to the campfire."

"You said there was no charring on the trees?" Malfoy asked.

"None at all." Hermione answered, expecting him to challenge her on it.

"Well, this does seem all too familiar, doesn't it, Draco?" The Headmaster asked bemusedly.

"What do you mean, sir?" Hermione asked.

"These are very similar circumstances to how Draco here arrived in Texas, also. Even going to Edinburgh and the memory loss." Mr. Greene told her nodding sadly.

"But, are you saying I can't go back?" She asked, shocked.

"Oh, you can go back. We just have to get a clearance for apparition from the Director's office. That will take about a week." Malfoy answered.

Hermione sighed in relief.

"But if someone attacked you, and the Aurors think it best for you to stay, of course you are welcome to," Mr. Greene told her.

"Thank you," Hermione said in a confused voice.

"So, we'll send out an owl to the Director's office and another to the Aurors. They have faster means of communication with their British counterparts than we do," Malfoy explained. "Do you need to get a hold of your boss or anything like that?"

She looked at him, "Well, I was on vacation from work, so I'll just need to get a hold of them tomorrow and let them know I may have to extend it. I should probably try to get in touch with the people I had planned to visit this week and cancel…" She said, the last mostly to herself.

"I… Have a number to get in contact with Zabini, he can send out owls for you in Britain, if that helps." Malfoy offered uncertainly, glancing at his boss.

Hermione gathered this was some information he did not want to discuss in depth, so she nodded and told him, "Thank you," quietly.

"Well, we will have to make sure your stay is comfortable. Of course we have rooms available on the second floor. I'll call an elf. Someone can probably take you into town if you need anything. I do hope that you will come dine at my table this evening, so I might get to know you a bit." Thom said kindly. "Oh, and you can call me Thom, since I'm not your boss," He added with a laugh.

She accepted the offer for dinner and Thom called an elf that showed her to the second floor. Primrose told her she would see her later in the day and Hermione settled into the room she had been given.

It was a stone lined room which had brightly colored blankets on the bed. The weave of the blanket was rough and there were reds, yellows, greens and blues in wide stripes. The wooden bedframe was plainly carved pine, and unvarnished, matching the dresser and nightstand. There were some decorations on the walls, mostly wrought iron worked in shapes like horses and one was of a rose. The rug on the floor was similar to the blanket but with more muted colors. It was plainly furnished, but still nice. Hermione debated changing the furniture to the kind like she was used to, but decided that she liked it the way it was. A glance at the clock and a quick calculation, her body clock was still insisting it was nearly time for her supper. The clock on the wall said it was only eleven in the morning.

She put her jumper on the dresser and glanced at her face in the mirror. In the reflection, she noticed a Muggle style lamp on the nightstand. Looking around, she was pleased to find electric lights rather than candles in all the lighting fixtures around the room. It made her able to imagine she was just in a hotel, and on vacation again. Not that there was an obvious enemy after her and that she could not leave until she had permission.

She lay down on top of the blanket and thought again to the strange situation she was in. No one seemed too concerned about what was going on. She reasoned that it was to keep her from worrying about it. That was not part of her personality, though. She was a worrier by nature.

She wondered who would want her out of England. _Malfoy was transported the same way. In the same place. To the same place…_ she wondered about that. _Why did he stay, though? Was he even wanted for crimes?_ She couldn't remember. She allowed her mind to wander as her eyes slipped shut.

After the war she had gone into hiding with Ron for a while. She just did not want the attention. She stayed away from the papers, since all they reported on was the hearings of the Death Eaters and the efforts of Harry to do the right thing for as many people as he could. In hiding, she could never find peace, though. She and Ron were different people. He wanted to go back to his family and ride on their wave of victory, to put it in simplest terms. There was a lot more to it, but Hermione rarely thought about it anymore. Their relationship had only lasted a year after the Final Battle, and they remained distant friends.

Now, she had no boyfriend and was glad for it. She didn't have to answer to anyone other than herself. Even her boss allowed her to do as she pleased. Cho Chang had hired her as an aide to her law practice in Ireland, so Hermione was mostly researching for the beautiful girl who had once been Harry's crush.

She led a quiet life with few friends. She didn't really need to work, financially. Her role in the war had granted her millions of Galleons from several huge outpourings of thanks from the Wizarding community. The frozen assets of the Purebloods who were incarcerated also had been divided among the entire Hogwarts body, with the largest portions of the shares going to her, Ron and Harry.

She had tried to refuse the money, thinking she didn't really deserve anything like that, but the look on Ron's face had stopped her words. She learned later that the gifts and money she received were expected in the Wizarding community. So she was fairly wealthy. But all of her wealth was in England. She had no access to it in America.

She floated into a deep slumber without intending to.

A quick knocking sound broke through the silence of her mind and her consciousness swam upwards to the light shining through her closed lids. The door opened before she opened her eyes and Malfoy was saying, "I've been sent to, oh, sorry."

She opened her eyes as he apologized for his intrusion, "Its ok, I must have dozed off. What were you saying?" She yawned once she finished her question.

"I've been sent to make sure you didn't want lunch. Service started about 45 minutes ago, and nearly everyone is done already," He was standing at the door still, awkwardly holding the doorknob. His eyes were diverted from looking directly at her. Recognizing his discomfort, and suddenly realizing the improper position she was in, she forced herself into a sitting position.

Running her fingers through her hair, she answered, "Thank you, yes, I should get something to eat." She stood. She glanced at herself in the mirror over the dresser, shrugged on her sweater again and turned back to him. He was watching her with an eyebrow raised. She gave him a thin smile and asked, "What is it?"

"Your hair is so different," He answered without changing his expression.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "It is," She answered blandly, preparing for a backhanded compliment.

He cleared his throat and looked at the floor. "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend. Follow me, I'll show you to the cafeteria."

She felt her eyebrows shoot up in surprise, but didn't comment. He turned and led her to the cafeteria without saying another word.

A/N: Ok, there, got some background out of the way. Draco's so awkward… He might give us some information soon.

Review! Dance!


	3. Chapter 3

She ate alone in a mostly empty cafeteria. Malfoy had quickly directed her to the line to get her food, and excused himself, telling her he had much to do that day. She had seen Luis in the back of the kitchen having a tense conversation with a fellow employee. From her vantage point, she could see Luis was frowning in displeasure at whatever was happening. Surprisingly, she saw very few elves working in the back.

Once she got over the initial amazement at the openness of the serving line- she could see the entire kitchen, it seemed- she had gotten some different types of barbeque to test, fried potatoes and a salad for her lunch. She sat down at an empty table and ate her food while looking at the paintings all around the room. Of course they moved, and she was in the process of watching a battle take place in one large frame when she saw Luis coming from the kitchen door. He caught her eyes as the door closed and gave her a wave. She waved back and he turned in her direction.

"Well, what do you think?" He asked as he approached.

"This food is amazing, Luis. Do you cook everything by hand?" She asked, watching him sit in front of her.

"Yeah. No magic can replicate the flavors. Even elves can't do it. So we barbeque for the lunch menu and smoke foods for the dinner service. The smoking takes about 14 hours, so that's the first thing we prep in the morning."

"Oh, I never knew it takes so long. It's a little weird to see you here though. I thought maybe you had the day off?" She asked.

He smiled thinly, "Yeah I was supposed to be spending the day with Rose. There were some problems, so I had to come clear it up. What did the Headmaster tell you? Can you go back?"

She sighed, putting down her fork. "Well, it will take at least a week. There's this whole process of getting the Apparition authorization. I have a nice room though," She answered.

"Well, if you want we can have you over for dinner tomorrow. Rose can cook," He stretched his hands over his head, "I do it enough I think."

She laughed, "That sounds nice."

He jumped as though remembering something, "Oh, I forgot, Draco's supposed to be coming by tomorrow. Did you meet him while you were downstairs?"

Hermione raised her eyebrow. She realized that Luis didn't know that she knew Draco from school. Only Rose did. So she told him about knowing Draco as a boy. "It was quite a shock to see him again, actually. We didn't get along while in school."

"Oh, well we can have you over another night if you'd prefer it."

She thought about it for a moment, weighing the positives of finding out firsthand what kind of person he was with the negative possibility of being proved right. "Let's do another night. It might feel like a double date. Malfoy is not the kind of person I want to date."

He gave her a strange look, "He seems like he might- no, never mind. Ok, we can try for Wednesday instead." He stood. "I'll go let Rose know. If I'm lucky she might make some of her pumpkin bread for you. I love it," He said, finishing it with a laugh.

She grinned and bid him goodbye.

She finished her salad and her tea and stood to go back to her room or maybe find the library, when she caught a flash of white-blonde hair out of the corner of her eye. She turned and saw Malfoy headed her way with a scowl on his face. He was wearing jeans now and a T-shirt with the Beatles on the front. She tried not to think about the Pureblood's Muggle clothing choices, and especially how good he looked wearing them.

She paused, halfway through standing from the bench style seat she had been sitting on, focusing instead on how startled she felt at the familiarity of his expression. That was the face she expected to see when she had turned the corner earlier. He quickly reconstructed his expression to a blank mask, but she already knew he was angry about something. She finished standing and turned back to gather her trash from the table.

"Granger, I've been instructed to take you to town. Do you feel up to it?" He asked, his tone one of boredom. She noticed that his sentences were clipped, though, a confirmation of his anger. She didn't look at him right away, she was debating if he was angry at having to take her or something else.

"You've been instructed? Does that mean it might be better for me to find someone else to take me?" She asked, avoiding looking at him.

He sighed and she peeked at him over her shoulder to find him pinching the bridge of his nose with his eyes closed in irritation. "I'll go tell Mr. Greene that you don't want me to take you. I told him we didn't get along, and he ignored me," He muttered. She turned back to her table to lift the dishes and take them to the trash wondering what in the world he meant. "Have a pleasant trip with whoever takes you anyway, Miss Granger," He told her in a polite tone.

She frowned and turned to look at him. He had lowered his hand and was looking at her blandly. She decided she may have misunderstood him. His polite comment was not what she would have expected if he were trying to pick a fight with her. Screwing up her courage, she asked him, "Well, before you go, why were you angry at having to take me?"

His eyebrow rose, he answered, "I wasn't. I expected you to reject it, given our history. Mr. Greene would not listen when I tried to tell him that would probably be your reaction. We have just finished arguing. Oh, I see now," He said, smiling slightly and looking at her like she were a small child, "You think it impossible for a Death Eater to be nice, right? Like your precious Weasley. Have you discovered my nefarious plot to kill the Headmaster and somehow resurrect Voldemort yet?" His tone became steadily more sarcastic as he spoke.

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Well, I have _now_. Honestly, you must be the worst villain imaginable if you tell me your assassination plot _before_ I have the chance to be captured and on the verge of a horrific death at your hand," She answered, matching his sarcasm. She was about to tell him off for his Weasley comment too, but he surprised her by laughing. She had never heard him laugh without cruelty behind it, and was so shocked that she started laughing with him.

His laughs dissolved into chuckles and he looked at her with a smile on his face, "Did we really just both expect the other to be rude about the situation?"

She was smiling up at him, "Yes, I believe we did. I'm sorry for expecting it and responding rudely. If you really don't mind taking me to town, then yes, I'm up for it. As long as you can promise to not make fun of me or my friends."

He nodded, and then told her, "I really don't mind, as long as you don't mind riding on horseback. Mr. Greene decided it would give us time to 'catch up'. I'll try not to make fun of your friends, and why would I want to make fun of you? There's no point to it."

She scoffed as he followed her to the trash bin. "Oh please, you seemed to enjoy it enough in school."

"That was a long time ago, Granger," He answered quietly. She turned and saw him examining his nails as though the conversation bored him. He looked at her without lifting his head, giving him a strange boyish charm.

She didn't answer for a moment. She was thinking about what had just happened. "Well, come on then. I need clothes for the week. How's the library here? Should I find books while I'm at it?"

He led her out of the cafeteria while telling her, "The library is bigger than at Hogwarts. I have a personal library also, which I'm willing to let you borrow from if you'd like," He offered.

She was surprised at his niceness. She considered what Primrose had told her earlier in the day about Malfoy. He climbed the stairs before her and she could feel the heat increasing as the came closer to the surface. She took the sweater back off as they climbed and tied it around her waist.

"You know, I just realized, how… er, how are you going to pay for your things?" He asked awkwardly over his shoulder.

She felt her pocket and felt the outline of her Galleons and reached around to her back pocket feeling a lump. She pulled it out and saw her small card holder she hadn't realized she had. Inside she remembered she had her passport and a credit card or two. She opened it and held her Visa in her hand with mild reverence. She asked him, "Know any Muggle places?"

"Yes. The town is all Muggle." He answered, as he stepped onto the landing of the first floor below the Mission itself. He glanced at her over his shoulder and saw the piece of plastic she held in her hand. "Oh, good. I was afraid I would have to run all the way back down to grab my wallet," He said with a smirk.

She looked at him quizzically but he had already turned around and was leading her to the last stairwell to the surface. She decided he must have been joking after a moment of thinking about it. Funny enough, she had never thought about Malfoy having a sense of humor which didn't revolve around the pain of others, and today he had proved her wrong twice already. He seemed to have a dry wit, an attractive quality in a person. Not that she was thinking of Malfoy as attractive or anything, she thought to herself hurriedly.

The shady Mission was empty and so was the courtyard. Malfoy lead her around to the back of the building and Hermione could hear the soft nicker of horses as they rounded the corner. The stable was attached to the back of the building. There was a boy hard at work mucking out a stall. After a moment, Hermione recognized his sweaty and flushed face as the boy Primrose caught snogging a much younger girl. Draco looked hard at the boy as they passed, Hermione wondered if he knew what had happened as she and Primrose came to the floor above his office.

Anthony came riding around the corner on a roan mare with high spirits. She was prancing when he pulled her reins to a stop and chewing her bit. "Afternoon Draco, Miss," He said raising his hat as he greeted her.

She had a second to look at him as he spoke and decided she liked his tanned skin, his eyes crinkled at the corners and he had brilliantly white teeth showing when he smiled. He was a handsome man. Hermione had never been too attracted to rough kinds of guys, but he seemed so polite, she could imagine why some women would be attracted to cowboys. She answered, "Good afternoon, sir." And mentally begged her face not to flush under his green eyed gaze.

"Afternoon, Anthony. This is Hermione Granger," Draco informed the cowboy. Hermione mimed a curtsy to which Anthony chuckled. "Did you get the horses ready for us?" Draco asked.

"I did. I've got the sisters waitin' 'round the corner for ya," He answered.

"Oh the sisters? Trying to impress the lady, are you?" Draco said with a smile up to the man.

Anthony smiled back, "Nosir. Still tryin' to get you in my bed though." He winked at Draco.

Hermione felt sad to figure out that the handsome cowboy was probably gay. She cursed her luck, she could have pretended to not know how to ride and had him help her. A cheap trick, perhaps, but Hermione's bed had been empty save for herself over the last year.

Malfoy chuckled, "You can try, Anthony. It'll never happen."

"Well, maybe the sisters'll change your mind. A man can dream." He winked and then clicked his tongue to the mare and turned her to the side of the building they had not come around. "I went to get some of this girl's spirit out, 'n' saw ya'll goin' around the other way." He rode easily before Hermione and Draco, Hermione admired his backside in his jeans as he lifted himself out of the saddle when his mare kicked her back legs out.

They came around the corner and saw two massive grey mares tied to a post. "Afternoon, ladies," Anthony told the beautiful mares with a chuckle. They looked toward the corner at the sound of the cowboy's voice, one whinnied in greeting and the other stamped a foot and nodded her head. They both had white marks on their foreheads and white fetlocks, but were otherwise a uniform dark grey. They were saddled already and swishing their tails at flies in the sun.

Hermione was in awe. She had never seen such tall horses in her life, and asked breathlessly, "Are these Clydesdales?"

"No ma'am. These girls are Shires. Don't worry though, Miss, they're gentle as the day is long," Anthony answered with another smile.

Hermione shyly approached the horses who watched her with interested eyes. "Hello, lady," she whispered as she approached the closer of the two horses. The horse nickered and Hermione reached up to stroke her velvety nose. She felt like a small child both in size and mentality. She was not unfamiliar with horses, but hadn't ridden in a few years, and she could not get over how the horses were so tall they dwarfed even Anthony's mare.

She tucked her jumper into one of the saddlebags because she was sick of holding it. The saddle was almost even with her head, but there was a strange contraption added to the stirrups, which looked like an extra step for short people. She would have to lift her leg higher than she was used to, but she was sure that she could manage getting up on her own.

She glanced back at Draco who was sharing a silent conversation with Anthony. He was in the process of shrugging and Anthony was smiling with a knowing expression on his face. Anthony noticed her looking and raised an eyebrow at her and gave her a wink. Draco saw and turned to Hermione, without missing a beat he asked, "Do you need help up?" With a smirk.

Hermione's temper flared and without answering untied the mare's reins, walked to her side, hooked her foot into the lower stirrup and jumped onto the horse. She regretted her anger nearly immediately and wished she had asked for a stool as her hip flared in agony, but she managed to lift herself into the saddle without showing her discomfort, or so she hoped. She directed the horse to turn toward the men and held her still. "Shall we?" She asked haughtily.

Anthony was grinning at her and Draco had a brow raised in what she thought was interest. He followed suit and climbed onto his own horse behind her. "Thanks Anthony," Draco called and nudged his horse toward the front of the mission without looking back at Hermione.

She nodded to Anthony and gave him a little wave as she followed. Anthony gave her a smile and nudged his own mare back toward the stables.

She turned the mare and followed Draco through the gate. There was a distant buzzing rising and falling in cycles, but otherwise the valley was silent. "What's that noise?" She asked when she had caught up with him.

"Cicadas. Nasty looking bugs. You get used to them after a few minutes," He answered blandly.

She was unsure of what to say so she stayed silent. They were following a beaten path through the tall grass. After a few minutes, Draco pulled his mare to a slower pace and had her match her sister's pace next to Hermione. He pulled a piece of grass from his side of the path and pulled out his wand. Touching it with the tip of his wand and muttering an incantation, it transfigured into a wide brimmed hat. "Here," He told her as he passed it to her. He did the same to another piece, making a slightly different hat for himself and placing it atop his head. "You wouldn't want to get a burn on your face, would you?" He asked her after a few seconds of her staring at the hat.

"Thank you," She said quietly and placed her hat on her head.

He glanced over at her as she spoke and nodded his acknowledgement.

"How far is it to town?" She asked.

"About ten miles. It'll take us about two hours at a walk." He readjusted himself in his saddle. "We could do a trot and get there in an hour, if you want." He added.

She urged her horse into a trot and he followed suit. She tried figuring out how far that was in kilometers, which she was more used to using, but quickly got bored trying to remember the formula for it. Her curiosity about what he was doing in Texas sparked again when she glanced over at him. "So, how did you end up here?"

He looked off into the distance for a few seconds, then answered, "Almost the same way as you. Primrose and Luis were not there though. I found my way to the Mission's front gate and Anthony came galloping up wondering what I was doing there. This was about three months after… My parents were put on trial." He paused for a second, and then cleared his throat. He continued, "I had nothing, no money, identification, even any clothing, other than the robes I was wearing. They told me I could go back to England, but… There was nothing there for me. Mr. Greene offered me a limited contract as his assistant. That turned into various positions and now I'm his second-in-command." He shrugged as though it was no matter to him. "He's a good man." He said.

"But you still keep in contact with Zabini?" She asked.

"Yes. He's…. well in control of my assets is the easiest way to put it." He seemed like he didn't want to talk about it so she did not ask about it anymore. They rode the path in silence for a few minutes. Suddenly he asked, "What about you? Is the Golden Trio still together?" He sounded sarcastic at the mention of 'Golden Trio' but otherwise sounded like it was a genuine question.

She felt slightly uncomfortable answering, but she did anyway. It was only fair he would have questions for her, too. "Not really. Ron joined a Quiddich team and doesn't really keep in contact. Harry's married to Ginny and they live in a Muggle neighborhood. They're on their third child, to be born at the end of the year."

"And you?" He asked quietly when it became clear she was finished speaking.

She thought about how to sum up her life in a few sentences without giving too much away. He was a Slytherin, there was always the chance that all of this was a devious plot to annoy her or something. She grimaced at how childish her own thoughts were. "I work as a researcher for Cho Chang, do you remember her?" He nodded, looking at the path instead of her. "Went to Uni and I just finished my Doctoral last year."

"So should I be calling you Dr. Granger?" He asked with some sarcasm in his voice.

She smiled, "No, I hate that."

"That's it? No mini-Grangers running around? No deranged husband going to come rescue you?"

"Why do you say deranged? Only mentally unstable people could be with me? Is that what you are saying?" Her voice was harsh and she was extremely angry at his insinuation. How dare he? Acting as though he knew anything about her regardless of-

"I meant insanely worried for your safety, a normal reaction to someone you care about disappearing. Merlin, Granger, I'm not trying to insult you." He honestly looked confused when she looked at him.

Already angry, she asked harshly, "Who are you? What game are you playing?"

He sighed and rubbed his face in irritation. "Can't we just skip all this shit? Do you really fucking think I have an entire school fooled and the great Doctor Granger is the only one who can see through my nefarious plot?" He sounded weary and angry in equal measure. "I know you think highly of your detective skills, but this is going to turn into a witch hunt if you're anything like Weasel and Potter. I'm guilty of a lot of things in my past, Granger, and trust me, as high as your pedestal is it is still fucking based on childish assumptions." His face was hard as stone and he glared at her from under the brim of his hat.

He looked as though he would continue, but a loud bang echoed through the valley. He grabbed the reins to her horse from Hermione's surprised hand and reigned in the sisters while he looked around them with wide eyes. Another bang and then yelling in the distance before them. "What is that?" She whispered, trying to ignore her anger for the time being.

"Not sure," He answered quietly. "But it seems like it might be coming from the town. Let's go." He handed her back the reins and kicked his horse into a gallop.

She didn't think, she just kicked her own mare to match his breakneck pace. The path was rising along with the surrounding terrain, and she could not see over the mild incline of the hill. She noticed that he had raised himself into the same position as her, and absently noted the absurdity of thinking it strange. Of course he would have lifted himself out of the saddle and was bent toward the horse's neck, it was the first thing one learned when graduating into riding at a gallop. She made a mental note to forget the image of his firm jean-clad rear in front of her when this day was over.

There was another bang, louder now that they were coming closer to the source. There was a feeling of movement past the point where she could see which she would try to explain later, but could never quite explain how she _knew_ there were about to be people in her way. She pulled back the reins and saw Malfoy direct his horse to a trot at about the same time.

The path gave the illusion of ending in about ten meters and she urged her horse to one side. Suddenly a young man came over his side of the hill and into their vision. His face was absolutely terrified and pale under his tan, he had blood running from a wound under his hair it seemed. A woman was following him, looking over her shoulder at the town as she ran. Her bare legs were spotted with blood also and her long black hair was flowing over her shoulders.

Neither of them stopped, even though Hermione called out, "What's happening?" In a tense voice. They simply ran down the unoccupied side of the path, without seeing them.

They began to see smoke as they came yet closer. Finally, Hermione saw Malfoy stop at the highest point and he raised his hand to cover his lips in shock at what he was seeing. Hermione came next to him and looked into the valley below. The small town was quickly being emptied of its' residents. Most were running, but there were a few cars being driven through the greenish-yellow grass jerkily. There were a few buildings on fire, burning brightly even in the afternoon sun. Most of the people seemed to be headed away from where Hermione and Malfoy had entered the valley.

Another explosion sounded through the valley and Hermione jumped at the volume of it. The new plume of smoke coming from the explosion's epicenter blocked their view of whatever was causing the situation.

Malfoy looked at her and unsheathed his wand with a nod. His face was hard and even paler than it normally was under his hat. She removed her wand and nodded back to him, silently agreeing to follow his lead. He turned and urged his horse down the hill at a trot toward the town and looked tense in the saddle.

Hermione was wishing she could get down from the mare to approach the situation silently, but she understood that Malfoy probably wanted a quicker escape if it was necessary and until they knew if it was a Magical problem or a Muggle one, it was a wise choice to remain on horseback.

The smell of burning wood and chemicals increased as they got closer. There was no cover for them to take advantage of, they were essentially open targets if the explosions and terror on the Muggles' faces were caused by a person. Hermione's horse was trying to slow down from her trot, obviously she didn't want to enter the town either. She tightened the reins and gripped her body tighter with her legs. She patted the huge horse on the neck reassuringly.

The path seemed to be the continuation of a side street perpendicular to the main road. They had a very limited view as they entered the town proper, but the now paved road made the horses' footsteps echo off the walls. There was more noise now, mostly coming from the popping of flames as they devoured buildings. The heat was unbearable and steadily increasing as they approached the main road. Malfoy was in front of her with his wand in one hand and his reins in the other.

Just before his horse stepped into the main road, he stopped Hermione from following with an impatient hand gesture ordering her to wait. She did not allow her anger to come into play, _You agreed to follow his lead,_ She reminded herself.

He looked quickly both ways down the street and then gave her a quick thumbs down and gestured for her to come forward. She urged her horse forward and felt the horse's rising anxiety in her hesitation to comply. As she approached him, the various sounds of the town's destruction increased. It was deafening as soon as she came from behind the makeshift sound barriers of the buildings on either side of the path.

There were a few people lying either unconscious or dead on the road and sidewalk. She frowned, but looked for a person who could possibly be the cause of all this. She realized that Malfoy had tried to warn her probably with his thumbs down.

A building behind her had caught fire also, she noticed. There was a strange groaning thump from the building next to it and her horse nearly bolted as the front part of the building came falling into the street. She reigned her in, trying to keep her prancing under control. Malfoy was watching silently. When Hermione finally relaxed, he cast a spell on her and the horse, filtering out the smell of the fire for both of them and then turned his wand to his own horse and himself. The horse calmed down slowly.

She nodded her thanks, knowing her voice was useless in the din of the fires and falling debris around them. She pointed her wand at the closest person to her and checked for life signs. Malfoy took his cue and began doing the same to each person he came across in the other direction. They had both been through enough battles to know the spells to check for life in apparent lifeless bodies.

After a few minutes, there were two people out of about twenty who were alive and hovering above the ground on stretchers controlled by Draco. Hermione had not found a single person alive. She was trying not to let the emotions of the scene overwhelm her. They had not seen anyone else moving in the town.

In the distance she began to hear sirens, she glanced at Malfoy. His face was covered in soot and he had marks from sweat dripping down his face. She was sure she looked worse, but could find no part of herself to care about it. Draco jerked his head toward the path they had taken into town and she followed him down the main street back to how they had entered.

She turned in her saddle, thinking she had just heard a whisper. Behind her silhouetted against the flames of a storefront was a person wearing robes and raising their hand. A jet of purple light headed directly at her but the horse jumped over something in the road causing her to jerk forward in the saddle, and the light hit the wall behind her instead of her face. The bricks of the wall exploded outward before she could even call out to Malfoy. In the split second it took for the wall to collapse onto her and her horse and before she was knocked unconscious she thought, _This seems familiar._

A/N: So... no reviews yet... does anyone even like this?


	4. Chapter 4

She woke groggy and sore all over. She was outside, she saw as soon as she opened her eyes. It was night. There was a campfire in front of her. The tall grass was stamped down into a makeshift camp. She moved slightly and felt cloth move over her arms. She heard movement and when she tried to move her head, an agony unlike anything she had ever experienced erupted through her skull.

"Woah, don't move," She seemed to know the voice, but couldn't remember who it belonged to. More movement and rustling and suddenly there was a head of fire-lit blonde hair in her vision. "How do you feel?" He asked as he came closer. His normally stern face was softened by worry.

"Like I've been run over by a truck, Draco. What happened?" She answered, she could hear a slight slur to her speech as she spoke. Her tongue felt fuzzy.

His brow creased further, "What do you remember?"

"I remember going into the town and everything was on fire. You cast a spell on my horse to block out the scent so she wouldn't bolt," She could feel her throat swelling in suppressed emotion as she continued, "Checking all those people to see if they were alive. And then… You gesturing to go back the way we came…" She was struggling to remember what happened next. "I… I thought it was afternoon, why is it night? Why are we still away from the school?" She tried to sit up again, she was panicking. She had lost some of her memory, she needed to find out what happened. Now.

He pushed her shoulders back gently and looked at her for a second, as though willing her to calm down. Her head felt like it might be splitting in two with the attempt to rise from her position. He stared into her eyes and then let her shoulders go. "You had a pretty bad head injury. A wall of a building fell on you, I guess from the supports falling apart. Here, drink this," He handed her a transfigured cup with a straw in it so she wouldn't have to raise her head to drink from it. She took a slow sip, not realizing until then that her throat felt raw and burned. She licked her lips and they were cracked and hot from burns.

"What happened, Malfoy. Was I horribly burned." Her voice was like a monotone, she was preparing herself for the news that she was horribly disfigured.

"No. You breathed in some smoke is all. You were knocked unconscious by whatever hit you in the head. Probably the wall, since little else could make a dent in that hard head. You'll be fine," His tone was almost affectionate. If it was anyone other than Malfoy, she might actually believe it was meant in a sweet kind of way.

She felt weary still and stared up at the Milky Way, trying to wrap her head around her injury. She mentally groaned at the thought of how she had gotten to the clearing, trying not to think of how stupid she must have looked while unconscious. She thought instead about how sometimes one lost a few seconds of memory before the incident, which explained her inability to remember. She took a deep breath, successfully forcing her body to relax. "Ok. Why are we not in the hospital, Muggle or Magical?" She asked finally.

He sighed and sat next to her head. She saw that his face was still covered in soot and so were his hands and arms. He looked like he had been through a war all over again. "I sent the two people from the town with paramedics to the Muggle Hospital, but with the laws such as they are, I couldn't send you there. At the moment you are an undocumented immigrant essentially. They would have arrested you. I… hid you. Your body scans came back fine. No internal damage or anything," He was defensive. He looked guilty.

"Ok," She said, "But what about the school?"

"I've sent word. Long ago. I haven't gotten an answer. I… Think there may have been an attack there, too." He said haltingly.

She closed her eyes, trying not to cry at her immediate thought that she might be the reason for these attacks. "So what about this head pain?" She said finally.

He pulled out his wand and waved it a few times, muttering different spells. "Just pressure from the swelling of your bruise, it looks like."

She opened her eyes quickly and asked, "Bruise?"

He reached out toward her head and- after she nodded her permission at his questioning look- he touched the side of her head in her hair. His touch was brief and gentle, but she was in agony. "You must have been knocked out from that one. I can bring down the swelling, if you'll permit me."

She nodded with tears of pain in her eyes. He whispered a spell and touched the swollen side of her head with the tip of his wand. She let out a strangled cry of pain and felt the tears falling from her eyes from his touch but the pain quickly began diminishing.

"Feel like sitting up?" He asked, still leaning slightly over her.

She nodded. He wrapped an arm under her shoulders as she attempted it and pulled her upright with little effort. Her sweater rolled off her arms and she put it on the right way without looking at him, but she could feel his stare from right next to her. She wasn't cold, but she wanted the comfort of something which smelled familiar.

"Where's my wand?" She asked. He picked it up from next to where she had been laying and handed it to her. "Thanks. How long was I out?"

"About five hours." He answered, still staring at her.

"What?" She asked after a few seconds.

"I think… Well, nothing. Never mind." He looked away and stood up. He busied himself transfiguring things into cookware and filling pots with water using his wand.

She tucked her knees under her chin and stared into the fire for a few minutes, allowing her mind to work through what Draco had told her happened. _Wait, Draco? When did he become Draco? _She thought, disconcerted at her thoughts. _When he saved your life. Maybe you should thank him for it._ Her conscience whispered to her. She frowned. _Thank Malfoy? How does one even do that? _She had manners and she was damn well going to use them, she instructed herself sternly.

"Malfoy?" She said quietly. He didn't hear her as he was setting water on the fire to boil. "Malfoy?" She said louder.

He looked up at her from across the fire and she was half-startled to find his face utterly handsome in the firelight. The rich gold caressed his skin like a loving hand, the flickering light playing off his features so that Hermione was forced to realize how he was no longer the boy she barely remembered. She shook her head to clear these traitorous thoughts, and told him, "Thank you. I think you saved my life."

He smiled lightly and she could see the tension of his face vanish, making him-if possible- even more handsome. "You're welcome. We don't have any food or means of getting any for right now. I'm putting water on to wash with. Scourgify does not work with this soot for some reason," He answered as he straightened and sat near her.

Taking another long sip of the water, she frowned. "It doesn't? That's weird."

"But, I see that water does."

"What do you mean, you see?"

He pointed to her face, "You've tear tracks."

"You mean you didn't think to wash your hands off in water," She asked, disbelieving.

"I had other things to worry about besides how nice my nails look. I only just thought of it again," He answered, sounding frustrated.

"Like what?" She asked, curiously.

"Like that your horse is dead under the rubble. That _you_ almost died under the rubble. That there was someone I had to fight before I could get to you. That no one has come to help us," He was growing more agitated by the second, "Because the person I had to fight probably tried to enter the school, and all of my friends might currently be dead. And that you looked like you were dead, even though my bloody wand told me you were alive. Is that enough for you to forget to wash your perfect little hands?"

"Someone was there?" She whispered. A little piece of memory seemed to be trying to get her attention, but she pushed it roughly back. It seemed that Draco was on the verge of telling her something vital.

His voice was still harsh, "Yes someone was there. Screaming for me to yield to him so he could finish the job he started. I know his voice. It was the man who sent me here." She gasped, the memory broke through the barrier and the silhouetted figure when she turned, the light shooting at her. Waking up under brick and mortar to her Draco sobbing her name while he was trying to dig her out and then passing back out, or was that a dream? She couldn't even imagine him crying.

"I think I remember," She said excitedly. She was used to people being angry when they were stressed, so she hardly acknowledged his ire.

He seemed to slide his mask back into place, his face became closed and his angry expression all but disappeared. "What do you remember?"

"I heard a whisper so I turned. Then there was a figure with fire behind them and they were raising their hand. There was a purple light that came out of their wand and it missed me, I think it hit the wall," She left out when she believed she may have woken up, since it was possibly a dream.

He frowned again. "It's rare that someone who has been knocked unconscious to regain their memory from about ten seconds before the trauma. Are you sure you're not imagining it?"

She looked at him completely astonished. "Are you accusing me of lying?" Her voice came out in an almost whisper. Rage was boiling below the surface and she gripped her wand tighter in her hand.

"For fucks sake, Granger if I wanted to call you a liar, I would! It's a reasonable fucking question!"

Her grip loosened on her wand and she suddenly stood. She bent over to yell in his face where he sat. "You stop cursing at me right this instant!" She screamed, pointing her finger in his face.

He roughly grabbed her wrist and pulled her further down towards his face. Rather than being scared like she probably should have been, the adrenaline had long since taken over and she became even angrier. Then he growled, "Stop fucking accusing me of insulting you. Maybe then I'll stop bloody cursing at your precious little face. Saintly Granger doesn't like bad words? Well the evil Malfoy hates being accused of shit he didn't say." He shoved her backward and released her wrist.

He stood as Hermione rubbed her wrist. He had not actually hurt her, but it was tingling strangely. She was trying to convince herself that it was her magic coming into contact with his, not that she enjoyed any part of his body touching hers. Definitely not that she had a single second while his face was inches from hers where she wanted him- desperately- to kiss her. It definitely didn't have anything to do with his rough grip or his anger. It was all because of the head injury she had suffered, that's it. In the moment it took her to reason all of this, Malfoy had stalked over to the opposite side of the fire and was angrily poking the carefully stacked logs with a long stick.

She went to the edge of the firelight and stared off into the direction of the school with her arms crossed over her chest. She heard a slight rustle in the grass a little distance away and stiffened. She remembered the Chupacabras Rose had mentioned. _If there was an attack on the school they could have escaped, or anything else Anthony was caring for._ She took a few steps further into the circle of flickering light without turning. Another small noise, a bit closer to her. She was frightened. She had no idea what kind of animals could be in the plains around them. She only knew that there were rattlesnakes that lived in tall grass. "Draco?" She said, quietly while hating the frightened waver in her voice.

"What?" His answer was tense and frustrated. His voice was much louder than hers and she wished he had kept it down.

"Something is in the grass," She whispered hurriedly, hearing another rustle, closer this time.

"Of course there is. Wild animals live all over this-" He was cut short by another rustling sound just past where Hermione was standing. She stepped back and held her wand before her defensively. Suddenly he was right next to her with a hand gently placed on her shoulder.

"It's coming closer," She whispered, ignoring the hand's pressure and the soreness under it.

They both tensed, waiting for the creature to show itself. Hermione heard a small _Meow_ just before Mjölnir stepped into the light. His eyes were half closed and he had the good sense to _Meow_ once more and then sit before them.

"Mjölnir!" Draco cried happily crouching down and holding a hand out to the oversized orange ball of fur. The cat stood and walked over to Draco with his back arched and his face relaxed in apparent happiness. He stroked across Draco's hand and Hermione's legs.

Hermione knelt down and scratched the purring cat under his chin, noticing a small paper tucked into his collar. She took it and silently showed it to Draco. She stood and unfolded the small strip of paper while Mjölnir was purring happily against her legs. He stood next to her and looked at the small writing on the paper over her shoulder.

_**Whoever finds this:**_

_**The survivors of the attack are at the assigned meeting place. Perpetrator has **__**not**__** been caught. Aurors are on the way. If medical help is needed, use Charm assigned. **__**Do not Apparate**__**. Travel by foot. Use as little magic as you can.**_

_**P. Hernandez**_

Hermione looked over her shoulder at Malfoy who was leaning over a few inches from her.

"We need to get this fire out and wash the soot off. Now." He ordered. She didn't bother debating it, he was right. She knelt down as he turned and reattached the paper to Mjölnir's collar.

"See if you can find anyone else," She whispered to the cat. It seemed that Mjölnir could understand her because he turned and wandered back into the grass, flicking his tail.

"Hurry up, Granger. I hadn't used magic until you woke up other than to check your health. Anyone can lock onto our location."

She washed her face and hands off quickly, wishing she had soap to wash off the smell of fire from her skin. It took about five minutes for them both to rinse off their skin and douse the fire with the water. It was dark, even with the half-moon just rising. "Alright, we have to go about seven miles to get to the designated spot. Get on the horse so we can go," Malfoy told her.

She looked at the shadow where his voice had come from indignant at his order, "I don't need to ride, I can walk perfectly fine, Malfoy."

He sighed in the dark, "A building fell on you. Get on the damn horse."

She felt her face warming and knew she was blushing. "I don't want to," She answered stubbornly.

"Why not?" He asked, sounding tired.

"Because… I don't…"

"Spit it out Granger," He growled.

Exacerbated, she said, "I don't think I can get up by myself." She crossed her arms and felt humiliated at having to admit her body's weariness to the tall blonde. She honestly didn't think she could lift her body to get onto the gigantic horse a second time.

She could hear the smirk in his voice when he answered, "You, Hermione Granger, need help with something?"

She huffed, "No, I _said_ I can walk."

He walked over to the horse-shaped shadow and then they both came in her direction. She prepared herself to follow the shadows when they passed. When he came close to her he stopped the horse and suddenly she was lifted in the air by a pair of strong hands. She shrieked in surprise and tried to struggle. "Shut up," He hissed. "And stop moving. You're riding."

He plopped her on the saddle without even making a noise of effort. She tried not to remember the feeling of his hands on her hips and she was most assuredly _not_ imagining what they would feel like on her bare skin. "You're such an ass," She told him as she settled into the saddle. She lifted her nose and was determined to not speak to him ever again.

He sighed, sounding weary, "Probably. And you are a haughty little bitch."

She was seething with anger and biting down retorts, deciding that silence was the best way to respond. _I'm not speaking to you. _She thought over and over again. About fifteen minutes went by with Malfoy holding the reigns and leading the horse beside him.

Suddenly he spoke, "You don't have any clue how to ask for someone's help, do you Granger?"

She tried to ignore him. Of course she never needed anyone to take care of her. Why should that matter? _No, ignore it. He's just trying to get you to talk to him._

"No," He sighed sadly, "I suppose you wouldn't. You were always helping others. You never needed anyone to take care of you." The moon had risen more and she could see him in the dim light better. He lowered his head and continued, "I know the feeling. Being a Malfoy means you're above others' help. To have to lower oneself to ask for help is not the Malfoy way. When I came here… I just wanted to go back. I had an empire which had suddenly become mine to run. My parent's wealth had been divvied up like all the other Death Eater's. But the companies we own and the stocks we had still needed to be managed. It was my duty."

He paused for a moment and raised his head, proudly. Hermione remembered the stance from when they were children suddenly. It was him preparing to attack. Should she be worried?

"I'm a proud man, Hermione. When I came here, I was broken and didn't even know it. My parents' were dead, I had only one person I considered a friend, and nothing but ridicule to return to in Britain. I was drowning out everything in Firewhiskey and waiting for someone to throw a killing curse at me on the street. There were threats, even though I turned on the Death Eater cause in the end. Regardless, I deserved it, I think now.

"But these people, they didn't care. Mr. Greene took one look at me and accepted who I was without a second thought. I told him I wanted nothing he could offer. The Dark Mark did not faze him. My parents' death was the next thing I tried to get him to leave me alone. He told me your parent's don't determine who you are. 'Look at me, a midget from full-sized parents,' He said. And I'll never forget, he told me, 'And you, a giant heart from a pair of midget ones.' I thought him insane, how could he know anything about my heart, he'd only known me for ten minutes. So I asked him, and he told me that he just knew. He offered me a job I was too proud to take. I had never worked a day in my life."

He paused as though remembering, Hermione stayed silent. She was marveling at his openness. She had expected to never learn the circumstances of his arrival in America. Now, here he was explaining it without her asking, without reservation. She remembered Rose's evaluation of him again.

"You think you know me, Granger. Because we lived in the same castle for seven years and had a few classes together. You have no idea who I was then, nor who I've grown up to be. Just the same as I have no idea who you were or who you grew up to be. You have no idea why I stayed. You have no idea how much it pains me when you assume that I'm nothing more than who you imagined me to be in school. That was ten years ago."

She felt horrible after his speech, guilty beyond measure, and incredibly ashamed of her actions. He was right, she _was_ judging him based on her experience from ten years prior. Before she could respond with an apology, he continued speaking. His lonely voice in the darkness made her heart go out to him.

"And don't you dare apologize. Don't you dare fucking pity me," He spit out the word 'pity' like it was a rotten egg. "If it weren't for the shit I've been through, I would never be the person I am today."

"Malfoy, I'm sorry for calling you an ass," Hermione said, anyway. "I was just pissed at your audacity."

He snorted. "Leave it to Granger to figure out the loophole in my forbidding you to apologize for ... Fine, I'm sorry for calling you a haughty bitch, even though you are sometimes."

She giggled, "Truce?"

"Truce."

They continued walking through the grass in easier silence. Hermione kept a watch around them for anything out of the ordinary, and Malfoy was listening to the crickets chirping in the distance.

When they came to a grove of trees about half an hour afterward, Hermione asked him to help her down so she could make use of the bushes. She was proud of herself for finally feeling comfortable with him taking care of her. He had explained it as though- in her mind- he was simply paying it forward. He had been helped in his time of need and now she was in need so he helped. He pulled a bottle of water from one of the saddle bags and handed it to her. "Dilute it," He said, sounding as uncomfortable as she felt hearing it. "Don't want to leave traces."

She left to take care of her business. When she came back, Malfoy was affectionately stroking the mare's nose. Even in the low moonlight, he could see the soft and unguarded expression on his face. She told herself she should remember this one image of him. His pale skin glowed softly in the moonlight and his hair had fallen over his brow. He seemed to be comforting the horse with soft words which Hermione could not hear. He glanced in her direction, his expression changed to his normal one, and she found herself saddened by the return of his mask.

"Ready?" He asked as she walked toward him.

She nodded and he lifted her again as though she weighed next to nothing. She allowed him to and when she was settled, she said, "Don't you think lifting me like that will get tiring?"

He was picking up the reigns when she asked and he smirked up at her, "No. You are not heavy."

She rolled her eyes and didn't comment. She was used to people talking about her petite frame as a compliment, but really she hated when people brought it up. She always had to get her clothing tailored whenever she went shopping because the stores never seemed to have her size in anything. It was mildly irritating. She expected him to say something like what others were always telling her. Instead, he said without looking at her, "If it makes you uncomfortable, I'll figure out a different way to get you up." She was surprised and grateful he didn't use it as a way to compliment her.

"No, it… It's fine." She said awkwardly. She didn't want to admit that she kind of liked to be manhandled. He lifted her so easily and some part of her brain tried whispering naughty things he could do to her, but she squashed the imaginary voice. She didn't want to admit that she kind of liked that he hadn't made the petite comment she had been expecting. That she kind of liked- _Nope. That's enough, Hermione. Stop right there. You can respect him but you do not kind of like him. Not going to happen._ She was frowning at herself for her almost admission as they entered the tree line. She definitely must have hit her head much harder than she thought.

"Only about half a mile to go," Malfoy told her in a low voice.

She leaned down next to his head, "Do we need to be quiet in here?" She whispered.

He didn't turn, "Somewhat. I don't know if they have enough people to have lookouts. Also, there might be some animals we wouldn't want to meet without the use of our magic," He answered in the same low voice.

She sat back up and was nearly hit in the face by a branch. She leaned toward the horse's neck. After getting hit regardless she whispered, "I should get down."

"Why?" His voice sounded curious.

"Well the trees are trying to kill me and also I would be an easy target up here if we were to come under attack." She answered hurriedly. He stopped and lifted her from the saddle to the ground. They continued in through the silent trees.

A male voice challenged them, "Identify yourself or be restrained."

"Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger." Draco answered.

"Oh thank Merlin," The voice was coming closer as it spoke. "We were so worried he found you."

"Who's 'he'?" Hermione asked.

The voice's owner was right in front of them and struck a Muggle torch pointed towards the ground. In the glow from the beam of light, Hermione saw it was Luis. "He said his name was Justin, he had two last names and he was here to give your punishment for war crimes."

"Finch-Fletchley?" Hermione asked, surprised.

"I think so. There was some other stuff goin' on, I didn't quite catch it."

They followed Luis towards a single tent hidden in the woods. A Mediwitch was in the process of talking to Rose and fixing some rather nasty cuts on her face when they entered. Hermione could see that there would be little scarring of the witch's pale skin. They must have brought a magically enlarged tent to the woods which would also hide their lantern lights from the outside.

The Mediwitch looked in their direction, saw Malfoy, and threw him a white coat and told him she needed help. He nodded and slipped his arms into the coat and pulled out his wand from his jeans' pocket. He glanced at Hermione in the dim lantern light and asked her, "You know enough healing spells to help?" Hermione tried not to ogle him, the white coat made him look even more handsome- if that were possible. She nodded in answer and he called out to the Mediwitch, "One more jacket, Dawn." The witch threw one from a nearby bed where there was one more coats waiting to be filled. Hermione got to work and wondered about why in the world Justin Finch-Fletchley would think she or Draco were guilty of any war crimes.

A/N: _**Rating/Reviews are awesome! You should leave one !**_


	5. Chapter 5

As the night wore on, Hermione was slowly slipping into an exhaustion that she had rarely experienced since after the final battle. Her bones even seemed weary. She was starving and someone gave her an apple- not nearly enough to satisfy her growling belly. She simply ignored it for now.

Malfoy was still in the makeshift hospital with the children and teachers even three hours later. She realized he must be tired too, and probably just as hungry. But then there was another injury, another time someone told her what had happened at the school.

More people came to the area as the night wore on. Luckily there were no serious injuries, just gashes and broken bones, bruises, and luckily only one missing finger.

Primrose was in and out of the camp, apparently looking for someone. Finally, she came to talk to Draco in private. The location for their privacy just happened to be on the other side of a screen of bushes outside the tent which Hermione was on the other side of. She debated listening, but in the end couldn't help it. She was unable to continue the healing spell she was casting over a compound fracture long enough to warn them that she was there.

Primrose told him, "I've found out where the Headmaster is, Draco."

"Good, now we can get a plan-"

"No you don't understand. He was found under the rubble of the cafeteria. He is dead Draco." Her voice seemed calm, but Hermione could practically feel the sadness behind her words.

She heard Draco sigh, and imagined him pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration or sadness. "You're here to tell me I am now acting Headmaster? Fine. And who is my deputy?"

"Well, I believe that falls to the treasurer, Daniel. He was out of town though."

"For the time being then, go tell Anthony that he better not get himself eaten by one of his blasted animals. He's next in line for the temporary position." Draco's voice sounded grim.

"And what about Hermione?"

"She remains a ward of the Headmaster. Thom made her such yesterday. She stays close by until we can return her to England. Now what about those security measures I put in place…" His voice was receding as he spoke and Hermione realized that they must be walking away.

She thought about what he had said while she moved to her next patient- repairing a boy's broken arm. She hadn't bothered to even ask how many were dead. She had assumed that everyone had lived through the attack. The people who had given her reports of their experience of the attack ranged from 'There was an explosion from nowhere' to 'I saw his face and he laughed at my pain'. No one had said a word about a death.

Then there was the issue of her being a 'ward of the Headmaster' whatever that meant. If it was anything like a ward from the Muggle world, then it had to do with the Headmaster or his supporters were required to put their lives on the line to protect her. She had not any clue what exactly that would mean for her position.

Finally, there were the security measures which Draco had claimed ownership over. She fought the urge to think he might have security measures lax enough to let people into camp, remembering his impassioned speech about her judging him based on the boy he was ten years ago. He had been through the war, too. She assumed that he would be as nervous about security as she was. Probably he had a sufficient amount of experience to be able to make good security measures.

She thought she would probably ask about all three of these things when given the chance. It wasn't like she was in the wrong for accidently eavesdropping, she was in the middle of a healing spell and couldn't call out. He would understand…. Right? Anyway, she could offer her help. She could never be the type to simply allow people to fall dead in protection of her. She needed to help.

The moon had set and she'd had a brief nap. It was nearly dawn before she even saw his white-blonde head entering the tent again. He was coming toward her. She looked back at the small cuts on a sobbing young witch's arm she was stopping the blood from seeping out of. She had just come wandering into the tent in the woods saying she had gotten lost in the dark.

She sent the young girl on her way and Draco came up to her with a look of weariness. "You need to sleep, Granger." He told her.

"So do you, Malfoy," She answered with a small smile.

He sighed and sat on the ground next to her. They stayed silent for a moment, looking at the sleeping forms of the students in the tent and the adults walking the perimeter in shifts. She decided she needed to ask her questions before she would be able to sleep again. "I have some questions… Do you mind?" She asked, nervous he would reject the conversation and be rude.

"Alright. If I can, I'll answer," He said slowly and carefully. His eyes suddenly bore into hers and she felt a strange jolt in her stomach. Sleep deprivation, she told herself.

"A while ago, I was…. Well, I accidentally eavesdropped. I'm sorry. I was in the middle of a spell and-"

"It's fine. What conversation?" He said briskly.

She lowered her voice, "When Rose informed you of the Headmaster's status," She answered.

He stood suddenly, "Come on Granger. We can talk about it, but privately." He held his hand out to her. She hesitated only briefly in taking his callused hand and allowing him to assist her to her feet. He held out his arm to her like a gentleman escorting a lady to dinner and whispered, "It would be best in no one knew what we are talking about. These things are not known beyond a very few. This will keep them from asking too many questions."

So she took his arm. She felt her hands shaking as she was forced to walk in close proximity to him. He led her up a path and was challenged four different times. Finally, he led her to a break in the trees at the top of the same cliff Primrose had taken her to the day before. They stood within the tree line, though.

She looked out across the valley and was saddened to see in the starlight that a big portion of the Mission was missing, some parts of the walls were collapsed and the wall surrounding the courtyard was destroyed on two sides. She stared at it for a long moment, not realizing at first she had tears running down her face, nor that she was still holding Malfoy's arm.

"You haven't seen it yet. That madman did this. He killed two students and the Headmaster. Now I've become Headmaster, temporarily. He may come after me to get to you. Thom had made you a ward of the Headmaster, which makes you my ward now," He said softly. His voice was sad in the darkness.

She slipped her arm from his, finally remembering it was there. "What does that mean? Being a ward, I mean."

"It means I have to protect you. If you are not within thirty meters of me, I will begin to get ill. Previously the distance was further, but now that we have been in danger… I tried to get to the mission, but it began to affect me. It's my responsibility to see you home safely as soon as possible. It's like a life debt, Granger. I have no choice but to protect you."

She tried not to let that hurt her feelings. She shouldn't expect any more from him. It was her tired and hungry mind playing tricks on her. Resolved, she asked, "And what about the students? What will happen to them now that the school must be rebuilt?"

"The kids don't need to know the Headmaster is dead right now. They are being taken home in the morning. The teachers and I will stay. Aurors should be here by morning. The decision has not been made for what we are going to do."

She turned to him in the growing light, "I need to help, Malfoy. What can I do?" She looked up at his face which she could barely see in the grey light of pre-dawn.

He sighed. "I knew you would say that. I need to keep you close. We need to figure out what Finch-Fletchley wants with us and what our perceived 'war crimes' are. I've spoken to Luis and Primrose and instructed them to not tell anyone about his accusations. Other than the Aurors, that is. I barely remember the boy, what about you?"

Eager to help, she racked her brain trying to remember anything. She answered after a second, "Hardly anything. He had a problem with Harry a few times, but that's all I can really think of."

"If he comes back…." There was the sound of a twig cracking behind them. He pulled her into an embrace and suddenly his lips were on hers. She was completely shocked. His lips were dry and warm and his hands were loosely wrapped around her back.

She tried desperately to remember that he was trying to keep their conversation a secret from the people who were now his temporary employees. Her face was warm, she was sure she was blushing. She moved a half step closer and put her hands on his chest, trying to convince herself that it was for the sake of keeping up the ruse that they were snogging for real and not playing pretend.

Definitely it had nothing to do with how much she wanted him to deepen the kiss. Her eyes were closed, she suddenly realized, who closes their eyes in a fake kiss? His hand spread across her lower back and pulled her firmly closer to him- she forgot what she had been thinking. Her hands slid- all by themselves, she was sure- loosely around his neck.

She gasped and his tongue shyly entered her mouth. She forgot to pretend that it was a real kiss and met his tongue with her own. It was a real kiss for a moment. He stroked his tongue along hers and she whimpered into his mouth. His silky hair was in her hands, how did that happen?

A throat being cleared broke them apart. She felt slightly dazed from… lack of sleep. That's all. She glanced up at Draco. He was looking into the gloom and she felt a pang of disappointment that he wasn't looking at her. If he was looking at her, she might be able to admit that the kiss had really just happened and it wasn't fake when he had stroked his tongue across her lips. When his hands had clenched in the back of her shirt after her voice had snuck out of her throat.

"Identify yourself," His voice was rough and commanding; she felt an unwelcome clench of desire from deep inside herself.

"Anthony Drilb," Came the sardonic drawl from the shadows.

He released Hermione from his embrace without stepping back and turned toward the shadows, "Well, hurry up. What is it? I'm in the middle of something, here."

"I can see that," Anthony said with a laugh. "The Aurors've started showin' up. Figured you'd want to know."

Draco sighed loudly, "I'll be right there."

The cowboy made little noise as he walked away. Draco looked down at her once more. The rosy light of dawn had begun to spread along the sky. It painted his pale skin in a reflection of its dusky pink. "You can help by staying close by."

For a moment she had no idea whatsoever what he was talking about. Then the conversation from before the kiss returned and she nodded once. "I promise I will," She said absently.

He offered her his arm again without a word. As they walked back down the path she was having a debate with herself. Obviously, he did not want to kiss her. It was all a ruse so no one would realize what she knew. It was easier to explain to others that he was attracted to her than to have them questioning what they had been talking about.

But that kiss was not wholly pretend, she argued against herself. It was unnecessary for him to clench her back so tightly when she had made a noise. That was a genuine reaction. It was unnecessary for him to even deepen the kiss, she realized suddenly. He could have made it appear convincing to an outsider without… she blushed as she remembered his velvety tongue stroking against hers. _Stop thinking about it. He made it clear it was a ruse. You're trying to convince yourself to see something that isn't there. Stop._

They entered the nearly empty location for their camp- aside from sleeping students- after being challenged for identification four more times. Malfoy didn't say a word to her. After the second challenge, she avoided thinking of him whenever she could for as long as she could. She threw herself into trying to remember the boy she had barely known from school instead.

A tall brown-haired man approached them. He held out his hand to Malfoy, "Mr. Malfoy, I'm Head Auror Avery. This is my assistant, Marlene Flynn." He gestured to a small woman standing slightly behind him. She had large glasses and a notepad in her hands. Her magnified eyes looked terrified to Hermione, perhaps it was her first assignment.

"Nice to meet you both. My… friend, Hermione Granger," His hesitation was minute, but Hermione caught it. Avery made no sign that he had noted it. "Tell me what you need and I will assist as much as is possible."

"Thank you." He had nodded to Hermione in greeting. "I need statements from as many as possible. Starting with the first people to see the attacker. What's being done with your students?"

"We need to send them to their homes where they might be safer. Can you spare Aurors to escort them?"

"Yes. We have brought the team which usually transports students to and from the Mission. What about your teachers?"

"They have elected to stay to rebuild. Do you have any information about Miss Granger?"

"Nothing new. Is this attack related?" Avery's eyebrows shot up in the gathering light.

"We think so. You'll understand our reasoning once you get our statements."

"Then let us begin. Who was the first to see the suspect?"

"If he is the same man who attacked the Muggle town, then me." Draco said.

"Well, let's get your statement in private." Avery said with a frown.

Draco crossed his arms and his face became arrogant while his voice sounded like he was speaking to an insolent child, "Miss Granger is officially designated as ward of the Headmaster. I'm sure I don't need to explain what that means. I am acting Headmaster. I take it- given the situation- you can understand my reluctance to do anything in private at the moment."

Avery raised his eyebrows but did not say anything about Malfoy's attitude. "Alright. Tell me what happened."

Malfoy told him about travelling down the path and arguing, hearing explosions, entering the town and being attacked by an unnamed Wizard- who, Draco noted, had a similar voice to the one which had sent him here nine years ago. He finished by telling the Auror about pulling Hermione from the rubble of the building and making sure she was alive before throwing her over his horse's neck and racing away from the town. "The wizard did not follow me, though which I realize is strange now, but at the time was just a relief. He seemed frightened by the Muggle sirens, perhaps. Maybe he's never heard them before. He Apparated away when the vehicles began entering the town. However, one cannot Apparate into or out of this valley, the wards go to the edges of the natural landscape."

Avery nodded during several parts and his assistant was jotting down what Draco was saying. "In the near future we will want more information about the wards, I think it wise to treat the attacks as by a single perpetrator for now. More evidence is needed before we separate them. Anything to add Miss Granger?" Avery said when it became apparent Malfoy was done speaking.

"Nothing of import." She said, noticing her voice was wavering slightly.

"You did not see the wizard, I take it?"

"I don't know. There's a memory of turning in my saddle and seeing a man in robes shooting a spell at me, but it is more likely a false one, as Mr. Malfoy was kind enough to point out to me earlier." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm as soon as she began to speak about Malfoy.

His grey eyes focused on her briefly and she thought she could see cold fury in his expression before he masked it. She nearly felt bad; he had misunderstood her intention- for the thousandth time it seemed. She mentally shrugged it off. It was not important. She remembered something suddenly and was about to inform Avery, but held back inexplicably. She decided to speak to Malfoy about it first.

"I believe that Mr. and Mrs. Hernandez were the first ones to see him at the school. I'll have my Deputy fetch them for you," He turned and Hermione saw that Anthony was standing beside Draco. He nodded to his now-boss and unfolded his long arms before silently walking into the woods. "And then, if it helps, I think that Anthony was the next to see him."

Primrose and Luis were ushered back to where they waited quickly, apparently they had been having a good snog in the woods by the look of Rose's flushed face and swollen lips. She gave Hermione a saucy wink as she approached. While Luis and Primrose told the Aurors what they had seen, Hermione poked Draco in his firm bicep and whispered that she needed to talk to him soon. He nodded and then she listened to the conversation fully.

Their story went that they had been going for their daily after lunch stroll through the woods and had been coming back after an hour in the woods at around 3 pm. Hermione considered the times not adding up- lunch had ended at 1- but dismissed it. They were probably going for an outdoor romp and had lost track of time.

Just outside the mission's courtyard wall, a man came running up to them from the grass screaming incoherently. They had both drawn their wands but a powerful spell had exploded the wall next to them. Primrose had dropped her wand when she jumped out of the way and in retaliation she threw herself into his racing figure without hesitation. Her fists had been bloodied and she needed to clean her engagement ring still as it was covered in his blood. The Aurors took the blood from the ring and put it into a vial for an identification potion.

Luis had unfortunately been hit by a portion of the wall when he had tried to jump out of the way of the explosion. Seeing his wife fighting, he found enough strength to escape the debris which covered him and jumped in, trying to restrain the slender man. They had been thrown clear of his body by a repulsion charm and rendered immobile by a Full-body Bind Curse. Then Anthony joined the fight, pulling his own wand.

Anthony took up the story and informed the Auror's that the boy- roughly the same age as Hermione and Draco- had thrown hexes and Anthony had blocked them and thrown a few of his own. The boy steadily advanced and had entered the courtyard easily. Anthony told them that he tried to block the boy from coming any further by gluing his feet to the floor, but had missed. The intruder had then begun casting explosive spells, which Anthony blocked as much as he could. One of the spells thrown by the intruder had ricocheted and knocked off part of the wall of the mission. That wall had fallen on Anthony and it had taken him far too long to escape from it.

The stories from the teachers all seemed repetitive after a while, Hermione was nevertheless inspired by their bravery and dedication to keeping the children safe while trying to stop the deranged man from advancing. He was apparently an excellent duelist. He was lucky that he had only met one teacher at a time, with the exception of Luis and Primrose. It was unfortunate that the narrow staircases caused more of a hindrance than a tool. Hermione thought the layout was more useful to the residents when an army attacking rather than a single man.

The Headmaster was apparently caught on the third floor down. He was found below a large section of wall, still alive. The Potions Master, Albadius Smith ('Al' as he insisted everyone call him, was a very fat man with a rosy complexion and was sweating profusely even in the shade of the trees) had found him. He reported that the Headmaster's last words were 'Rebuild, protect the children'.

Finally the barrage of questioning was over with. The Auror's assigned to the task had been escorting the children in pairs or triplets to their homes by using a portable Floo. There was no word on where the intruder was now. They took one memory from Luis as he'd had the longest look at him, so they could begin making 'Wanted' posters and alerting the news media.

It was nearly noon by the time they were finished. Hermione was keeping her mouth shut, knowing she was getting grumpier as she got hungrier. Her stomach let out a loud growl just as she was bidding the Head Auror good luck in researching. They had tried to force Hermione to go into hiding, but she and Draco had decided that she was safer there.

The Auror handed her a picnic basket he took from one of his underlings. "Replenishes itself once you close it. Undetectable spells from the outside." He handed Draco a piece of paper and told him, "Approved list of spells. The wards have been altered going towards the mission. Only these spells will work within the courtyard. If he comes back, he can't do anything dangerous. Aurors now have an Apparition point just inside the courtyard walls. If he comes, use the spell here and the Aurors will come right back."

"And the identification potion will take how long?" Draco asked calmly.

"Four hours once the lab has the blood. We should know by nightfall," Avery answered.

The Aurors left. Draco touched her arm and made a motion towards the tent with his head and she followed him into it. Now that the students were gone, the tent was filled with teachers and some staff. There was some quiet talking but mostly everyone was silent and tired looking.

Hermione opened the basket and handed Draco a sandwich before tearing into one of her own. Anthony took the basket at Malfoy's request and began handing out provisions to the remaining teachers. Once everyone had begun talking over the events, Draco raised his voice and asked for everyone to gather round.

"We all need to sleep," He said loud enough for the thirty or so staff members to hear him. "The Auror's have changed the wards of the courtyard, we will move camp to there after this conversation." He relayed the information about the approved use of spells, making copies of the list with his wand. "No one is to allow any stranger into the courtyard. The Aurors will be sending us information about our attacker by nightfall."

Someone near the back of the group shouted, "Where is the Headmaster?"

There was some murmuring among them, Draco spoke over them, "Mr. Greene was unfortunately killed from injuries sustained during the attack, so I hold his position temporarily." There was a collective shout of dismay at the information. Draco looked sadly around at them. "We are all saddened, I know. Now is not the time to give into it. We have to get to the courtyard at least." There were nods from those who had already known the Headmaster's fate.

The trek back to the school shortly afterwards was a blur for Hermione. Her mind was beginning to shut down in her exhaustion. She walked next to Anthony who was silent company. They arrived and set up the tent again. Someone realized that bathing would become a necessity. Hermione blearily lay down on a cot and passed out without hearing anything else.

She woke in a cool room, covered in a blanket, freshly bathed and in different clothes. Draco was staring at her from the bedside. She asked him groggily, "What time is it?"

Draco glanced away from her and put his hand out to someone with a shake of his head. "It's around 7 AM," He answered hoarsely.

"But it was…"

"We arrived at the school yesterday afternoon around 3:30."

"And now I'm… where?" She looked around the white walled room. There were privacy screens. She was under a non-descript blue blanket, white sheets were on the bed. A hospital.

"In the hospital wing of the Mission. Most of the school has been rebuilt."

She looked at him for a few seconds, noting the frown on his face, the tenseness of his face. "You were worried about me," It was almost a question, but her voice didn't rise in the right inflection, and she felt an eyebrow quirked in half-humor. She wondered briefly if she had been given some kind of potion. She felt disassociated with her emotions.

He sighed and covered part of his face with his hand. "I can neither confirm nor deny that."

She smiled weakly, realizing for the first time exactly how tired her body felt. "Can I have something to drink?" She asked.

He sighed and waved over the Mediwitch. She poked and prodded at Hermione, disbelieving that she had been asleep for fifteen hours straight. She bothered Hermione looking for potential poisons she could have come into contact with. Draco sat in his chair with a smirk on his face the whole time. She could strangle him, he knew she had been awake for a ridiculous amount of time and that she was ok, but he didn't say a word to the Mediwitch. Finally, the woman gave her some coffee and an egg and cheese concoction wrapped in a flatbread. Hermione's stomach gave a happy lurch at the sight of the food and Draco waited for her to finish.

She sat back against her pillows and asked him, "What's happened? The Aurors? Teachers? Has he been caught? What abou-"

He cut her off with a laugh. "Hang on, one at a time. The Auror's have released his name to the media. He lied about his name, it wasn't the Hufflepuff after all. It was the son of a Death Eater. The boy's name is Mothifinn Rowle, his father was Thorfinn. Something about their names reflecting the Norse mythology," He waved it away as though unimportant. "He's access to Polyjuice- it showed up in his blood. I suspected it, previously. However, no one saw him leave. We are testing everyone currently. We have a lockdown right now, no one in or out. The Minister's office has declined your permission to Apparate to England, citing a 'Clear Security Threat'. Until he's caught you're stuck here. He is an international criminal now."

She was mulling over what were some intense emotions as he finished informing her of her position. She was stuck in America for the foreseeable future. Some Death Eater's son wanted her dead. The killer was likely inside of the school where she sat. She took a sip of the coffee, and searched for how to describe how she was feeling or at least how to sum up the situation. "Shit," She said after a moment.

His mouth dropped open, "Did you just curse?" He asked, sounding surprised.

She closed her eyes and took another drink of her coffee. "Yes. I believe I did," She cracked an eye and mimicked his signature smirk, "Problem?"

He chuckled and gave her a full smile, showing off his dimples in the process. She never even knew he had dimples, and the smile wiped away any remaining worry on his face. "None at all. Care to get up? I do have other things to do. You promise you would keep close and then you sleep for fifteen hours," He shook his head pretending to be disappointed. "We have to keep an eye out for the face Rowle is using currently. I've analyzed everyone's behavior, but… they are all grieving, no one is acting normally…"

She smiled and drained her cup, and looking down at her clothes she realized they had changed her clothes while she slept. "Uh, were you… here when they….?"

He smirked, "You really want to know?"

She felt herself blushing, "Tell me you weren't," She felt utterly mortified.

"No Granger, I wasn't." He looked at her for a moment, as though trying to figure her out, "I really wasn't. Come on."

A/N: So… uh, Reviews? I was so happy to get a couple with the last update!


	6. Chapter 6

He led her down a set of stairs she had not yet seen and told her over his shoulder, "We still have some minor rebuilding to get to. Your wand is in my office, I asked Anthony to put it in there, as I could not leave the floor you were on. What did you want to tell me when the Auror's were here?"

"That Justin was Muggle-Born. Sirens wouldn't have scared him. But, I guess it doesn't matter now that we know it's not really him," She said tightly. Her thighs were burning as they descended, probably from the riding she had done the day before. She had been gripping the railing jutting from the wall tightly as she had answered.

Over his shoulder he said, "Be careful what you say, Granger." He turned at the bottom of the stair and saw how she hobbled the last few steps, she could feel herself blushing at the obviousness of her discomfort. "Are you alright?" He asked with a frown on his face.

"Yes, just not fully recovered, I suppose. What do you mean?" She answered wearily.

He placed a hand on her shoulder as she reached the last step and she suddenly remembered the kiss from the morning before, and blushed again as she looked up at his face. He shook his head before saying, "I just need you to come to this floor, if you'd like you can rest in my chambers. There will be a time later on when I will need you to come with me to the surface, so it will be advantageous for you to rest before having to climb all those stairs."

"Typical Slytherin," She said with a small smile, "Dragging me all over the Mission for your own means."

He grinned and answered, "Once a snake, always a snake. Come this way."

He led her down a narrow passage to a great wooden door with intricate carvings over it. Some of the carvings were of what seemed to be stories from the history of the Mission and others were of strange animals she guessed were native to the area. Over the top of the arched door were the words 'Enter Here if ye be of Goode Heart' in gilded script. The handle was a golden weave made to look like rope. He pushed it open with little effort and she followed him into a large space which took her breath away.

The walls were completely covered in books and there were at least four different seating areas with muted green armchairs and small tables. A writing desk sat in the middle of the room made of rich mahogany and parchments and quills were heaped haphazardly across the surface. A huge rug covered the floor in warm reds and browns, making the entire area seem warm and inviting. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling casting delicate swirls of light across the room.

He pointed to a door near the back of the room and told her "The loo is there," He pointed to another door, "Bedroom if you want to nap, I don't mind. Feel free to find a book," He glanced at her with a smirk, "Or, knowing you, more than one."

She realized her mouth was hanging open in an unladylike fashion and snapped her jaws shut as her eyes drank in the room around her. She barely registered what he had said and did not answer. He snapped his fingers in front of her face and she jumped, feeling like she was coming back to reality, "What was that you said?" She asked.

Chuckling, he pointed to the doors again and repeated himself. "I'll get your wand and then I'll ward the door so only I can come in without your permission."

"Ok," She said breathlessly. He left without her noticing and she stood there for a few more seconds in awe. Then she walked over to the nearest shelf and stroked along the spines of the books with reverence. Not since Hogwarts had she been so enamored with a library. She lost track of time as she examined the shelf's titles, _Dragons of the Current Age, Dragon Lore, A Brief History of Magical Creatures (Revised- Now with More Dragon Lore!), The Elegant Lizard, 4,000 Degrees Fahrenheit_ and more.

The door opened behind her noiselessly and she did not hear it. The click of the door against the frame caused her to turn, but there was no one in the room. She felt herself frown as she walked to the door and opened it, thinking someone was looking for Malfoy and curious who it might be. She briefly caught sight of the shoulder of a man- by the height- turning the corner toward the stairs and walked towards the same corner, curiosity growing.

As she was about to look around the corner, she collided with a solid frame and was knocked backwards, nearly losing her balance and ending up on the floor. She steadied herself and glanced up to see Malfoy with his hand near her waist as though to catch her if she fell. "Alright?" He asked with worry in his voice. "What were you doing?" He asked at her answering nod.

"Someone was…" She sighed and shook her head, something made her brain feel fuzzy, and definitely not the delicious smelling cologne Malfoy was wearing, although it may have been a contributing factor. "I feel weird." She whispered as she noticed the edges of the world blurring.

Malfoy had his wand in his hand suddenly and waved it while muttering spells. He gasped and in a stronger tone cast an anti-jinx she didn't know. Her head began to clear and she felt better slowly. He grasped her shoulders and looked at her intensely, his grey eyes seemed to be boring into every crevice of her mind, but he was not using a spell, it was just his way. "Who did you see?" He asked in a voice which allowed for no evasion.

"I don't know." She was nearly back to normal and frightened- nearly to the same level as when Bellatrix had nearly killed her. When she had been carved into like a tree the status the insane witch believed Hermione deserved. She was fighting against thinking about it and succeeding as she tried to explain what had happened to her. "You must have seen him as he turned the corner," She said, finishing her short tale.

"There wasn't anyone I saw," He said releasing her shoulders and looking at his hands as though they were foreign to him. "I was talking to one of the former Headmasters, he was walking down the corridor's picture frames. He had just told me something. I was looking at him. Come on, I need to ward the door. Here's your wand," He handed it to her and she was glad to see it. She stuffed it into the waistband of the sweatpants she had been changed into.

He paused inside the door and cast a few spells. She recognized the first two as being intended to both hide the door from those who had never been inside and dampen her magical signature from everyone but him. The latter two she did not recognize. "What were the last two, Draco?" She asked without thinking when he turned.

She saw that he raised an eyebrow and his cheeks seemed… Was he blushing? She couldn't believe it, he was blushing. "The second to last is to only allow me and you access to these rooms and the last is to record anyone who attempts to open the door."

So he was blushing about something else… "Ok. How long do you think until we go to the surface?"

His blush was receding as he answered, "About four or five hours. We'll have lunch at some point around there. No one knows that Rowle may still be in the Mission, do not say anything."

She nodded her understanding, "Is there a shower I can use? I'd like to wash my hair, and maybe change to something a bit more appropriate?"

"The Headmaster I was speaking to mentioned that the loo of this room is charmed to give whoever opens the doors whatever they need. So try that. If not… I can lend you some clothes to transfigure? I'm sure you know how to do that." He looked a bit awkward as he spoke.

She nodded. He went to his bedroom and she debated if she should follow him. He seemed… distracted? Maybe that was the word she wanted. Plus, it would be a bit inappropriate to be in his bedroom… with him… She blushed as an unwelcome image of herself riding him, his pale skin glowing in contrast against black silk sheets washed across her consciousness. She tried to push the image away from her mind, she could feel the stirrings of lust in her belly, but the fantasy Draco grabbed her hips and flipped her onto her back and began pounding mercilessly into he- "Do you think this will do?" He asked as he walked back into the room.

She cleared her throat and tried to pretend she was not blushing. She looked at the white button up shirt and black pants he was holding. "Yes," She mentally groaned at how husky her voice sounded and hoped that he wouldn't comment.

"Are you ok? You're flushed. And your voice sounds… rough." His damned eyebrow was lifted and he looked like he might know the goddamn answer already. She wished she could curl up in a hole somewhere and just never leave again until she died of starvation.

She went with her old standby- irritated Hermione is one no one would question. "I'm perfectly fine, Malfoy. Now if you don't mind I would very much like to get these clothes off of me."

He smirked and his expression became more predatory. "No, I don't mind at all." He sat in the nearest chair with one side step and put the clothes he had been holding in his lap. She stood looking at him for a few seconds trying to figure out what the hell he was doing. "Well, go on." He said with a wave of his hand.

"I meant that I wanted to shower, Malfoy. That I wanted some privacy."

"Oh," He said sarcastically. "You did not say that. I just figured with how you reacted yesterday in the woods..." She didn't let him finish and threw a book at him.

"You kissed me you git!" She screeched as she threw it. She really hated herself for 'screeching' but there was no other word for it, that's exactly what it sounded like.

He was chuckling as he waved his wand to still the book mid-flight, he stood and plucked the book out of the air. He set it on the table as he approached her with the clothes over his arm. "I see I've hit a nerve," He put the clothes over a chair and continued stalking closer to her. She backed up as he got closer, causing him to grin, "A big sore nerve."

"How dare you use that against me?" She said, filled with rage, but still backing away.

"It certainly was a pleasant reaction," She threw another book at his advancing figure, he changed its direction with a wave of his wand. Nonplussed, he continued, "One I would love to see again. However, my question stands, what were you thinking about that made you blush so?"

_Fuck_, She thought. "N-nothing," She answered, her voice betraying her lie.

"Oh really?" He asked stepping around a chair and still walking toward her. She backed up further and felt herself against the shelves lining the walls. He smirked and a brief look of triumph showed through his intense gaze.

"Yes, really," Was that her voice that sounded so shaky and breathless? She steeled her resolve, it was not her to be backed into a corner without a fight. "What were you blushing about when I asked about the spells on the door?" She asked defensively.

He rested his hands on either side of her shoulders on one of the shelves without touching her. "You used my first name. Again." He tilted his head and she noticed that his eyes were slightly darker. His pupils were dilated. "Hermione," He all but purred her name and she felt another blush rising to her cheeks. His warmth seemed to seep through her clothes and he was still not touching her. She was frozen between wanting to bolt and wanting to know what he wanted to do. "What were you thinking about?" He asked again.

"How you kissed me yesterday," She lied.

His head was slowly lowering to hers as he said, "One little half-fake kiss caused such a blush? What would happen with a real one, I wonder?"

Her heart was beating so hard, she felt like it might soon burst if he didn't back away. He didn't. His soft lips were ever so gently touching hers, as though to give her the opportunity to back away. She felt her eyes slip shut and she pushed her lips more firmly into his. He made a noise of approval in his throat and she felt one of his hands wrapping around her lower back. He pulled her small frame against his, impatiently.

She opened her mouth slightly and he took the opportunity to push his tongue against hers. She realized her hand had tangled itself into his silky hair once more and she pulled it slightly when he bit lightly at her lower lip. He growled and pushed his body roughly against hers, pinning her against the bookshelf.

The shelf near her bottom dug into her hip bones from him pushing against her so hard, but she didn't care in the least. Her attention was focused on his tongue thrusting against hers. His hand on her back had just lifted her shirt and was stroking across the smooth skin of her spine. She couldn't help arching up into his body nor the mewl of pleasure at his touch. She realized his hardness was pressed against her lower belly and half noticed that her body moved against it without her intending to.

She felt the familiar tug of lust deep in her stomach. She desperately wanted to open her legs enough for his hips to press against her throbbing center. That sweet clenching sensation from between her thighs was driving her mad. His hand was beginning to move to her belly and she let out a half-laugh, half-shuddering moan as he brushed a fingertip against her ticklish ribs. He bit her lip lightly. His free hand gripped her hair and tilted her head to the side so he had access to kiss across her jaw and down her neck. His fingers traced random patterns across her stomach and brushed across the bottom of her bra, her nipples instantly hardened, aching for his touch. She could hear her own quivering breathing and gasps.

"Draco," She moaned, trying to get his attention. Her voice was husky and she was breathless, guilt had begun suddenly, this was moving too fast. His response was a deep growl and his thumb boldly brushed against the bottom of her breast. She threw her head back and bit her lip to stop herself from calling out his name in encouragement. _Fuck, I have to stop this before it goes too…_ She couldn't finish her thought as he brought the hand from her belly down to cup her rear and press her more tightly against him. His index finger brushed against her throbbing center and her hips angled themselves to try and show him where she needed him to touch.

"Damn, Hermione," He growled against her neck. Her nipples hardened even tighter against his chest and began to pulse in time with the throbbing between her lower lips. He was so incendiary, she couldn't find it in herself to stop his ministrations. He lifted his head and latched onto her lips once more, his tongue miming what he could do to her tingling clit. He tugged on her hair and she realized that her hand was still tangled near the base of his skull.

He stopped suddenly and put his hands on her waist. He had his head resting against her shoulder. She could feel his hands shaking and he was breathing hard. She stayed still, realizing he was trying to regain his composure. "Someone is in my office," He whispered. "I have to go."

He stood straight and looked down at her, his face slightly reddened and his lips swollen. Gods, with just that intense stare she felt another deep throb in her lower belly. She bit her lip, trying not to think of how terrible she probably looked at the moment.

His eyes darted to her mouth as she trapped her lip between her teeth and he licked his lips slowly. He pushed himself away from her, shaking his head and said, "I will be back soon. Don't…" She had licked her lips and he faltered in his speech. He cleared his throat, "Don't let anyone in."

He walked quickly to the door and it slammed behind him. She rested her head against the bookshelf for a moment, storing away the intensity of the kiss and her reaction to it. She wanted to do it again. And a lot more. And then do that again. Her thoughts made no sense to herself. The only thing she did know was that she was in deep lust with her former enemy. And that he was an absolutely amazing kisser. And that she really wanted to get her damp panties off. And she was incredibly turned on.

She walked unsteadily to the loo and opened the door. There was a shower stall in the middle of the floor with a white curtain wrapping around it. She turned on the tap after staring at it momentarily and figuring out how it worked. She remembered the clothes he had brought out and looked around to see if the room had provided her with any. None. So she went back into the library and took the clothes off the chair, trying not to think about how he looked when he put them there or any of the events which followed.

_Half-fake kiss? What does that even mean? He half-wanted to kiss me? Although, it is apparent now that he definitely wanted to kiss me this time._ She thought as she shut the door to the already steamy room. She smiled at the thought. _But that means nothing other than that._ She frowned slightly. She wondered about what all this meant. It wasn't like she liked him especially, and he probably just wanted a quick lay anyway.

Maybe she should just give into the carnal desire aching in her core and let that be the end of it. There was no real shame in having sex for the first time this year… or most of last year… Even the last guy she had slept with had been a one night stand. She barely had time for her friends, much less a… relationship. She had her trusty vibrator at home and that was all she needed. Pushing aside the thought for the moment, she stepped into the hot water and let out a happy moan.

She shampooed her hair, allowing her mind to float wherever it would. The shampoo slipping over her breasts made her shiver and reawakened her passion. She rinsed out the rest and allowed her fantasies to take over. When she slipped her fingers between her swollen lips she couldn't help but lean forward as her fantasy Draco took her from behind. She imagined him pulling her hips roughly against him. She imagined he would growl in pleasure as she touched herself at his command. She could feel the coil close to snapping and all it took was for fantasy Draco to order her orgasm. She didn't hold back any of the cries of pleasure as she rose the waves of her orgasm.

She tried to catch her breath and allowed the hot water to relax her tight muscles of her back. _Fine, I guess maybe I do like him a little bit. It's also so easy to imagine him being a Dominant partner…_ Hermione thought back to her second sexual partner, a man who had introduced her to BDSM. They had been together for sex only and every time had been more phenomenal than the last. She only knew him as Sir and had been wholly ok with it.

He helped her get through some of the worst guilt about how the war had happened, mostly about the people she had injured and even killed during the final battle. He had known nothing about her, he was a Muggle after all. She had gone to the wrong club one night wearing a spring dress and her hair tied in a long ponytail. The members of the club were wearing lots of leather and most of the women were on chains or were whipping men on x-shaped contraptions.

She still didn't know why she stayed longer than a moment in the presence of these apparent deviants. The man she came to know as Sir only had circled her standing just inside the door. He had popped her mouth closed with a single finger and asked her if she wanted to play. He had only been wearing Muggle jeans, sitting low on his hips. His skin was dark, his muscles accentuated by the surreal lights illuminating the place. In his hand had been a riding crop.

She had questioned what he meant. He explained she had shown up to a place for people with interests in the darker side of sex. Did she want to join? She thought about it. She told him yes. She had been taken to his private room above the club and he had taken her to places she had never experienced with Ron. She had her first orgasms that night, first from his fingers as a reward, later from his hard length in her.

As time progressed she learned how to please him. She told him about the war, using Muggle terms and trying not to give too much information about it. He had understood. He told her that if she felt guilty, he could help. He had caned her. She deserved every second of it. She should never have been rewarded for killing people or injuring them. Her morals had been tested and shattered in the war. Sir helped her find them again and make them stronger.

Four years of seeing him on a weekly basis and he told her he could no longer see her. He had decided to marry his girlfriend and he wanted to be exclusive with her for a while. Hermione understood. There were no real feelings between them, just sex and care. She felt like he had helped her as a therapist would, but always thought herself ridiculous for thinking it. He just fucked her for heaven's sake. Maybe it had to do with the way that he actually cared for her while everyone else had abandoned her.

She opened the shower curtain without even paying attention to what she had been doing. She hadn't thought of that man in a very long time. She had barely even remembered what he looked like until she thought of him just then. Shaking her head, she stepped out of the shower and put on Draco's shirt over her bra and panties. It came nearly to her knees at the tails and she almost laughed. How had she never realized how much bigger he was than she? She looked in a full length mirror which had showed up next to her and decided this would make a cute dress.

She transfigured the middle of the 'dress' so it had more of an empire waist to flatter her curves. Then she cuffed the sleeves until they sat at her mid-forearms and narrowed the shoulders with her wand. She twisted and turned in the mirror, trying to make sure no one could see through the material in the light and it was not too revealing on her thighs. Finally she spelled her hair dry, deciding to let her curls stay as they were. She didn't have her potions, so the wavy style she liked would have to be forgotten for now.

She put the pants over her arm and put the sweats in the laundry chute. She decided to grab a book and lay down in his bed. Her heart was fluttering in her chest at the thought of being surrounded by his marvelous scent. She may not like him all that much but even she had to admit he smelled amazing at all times. Trying to ignore the tingling from between her thighs, she grabbed a random book about Sleeping Draughts and entered his room. It was larger than the room she had been offered when she first arrived, but the furniture was nearly the same. He had opted to have the color scheme be in greens and browns, reflecting the library. He also had a large fireplace to brood over, which made Hermione laugh to herself at the all too believable picture.

Leaving the door open, she turned to the bed and piled pillows around so she could recline on the bed with her borrowed book. She noticed as she crawled under the covers that there was a piano and a violin in the corner she had not seen at first. She picked up her wand from where she had placed it on the nightstand and pointed it at the instruments with an incantation. They began to play softly and she smiled as she curled her knees to support the book.

Not long after, she closed her eyes to rest them. She was thinking about all the information she had just read and allowed her mind to mull over it all as she reclined and listened to the soft music.

"This is a welcome sight." Draco's sardonic voice broke through her concentration.

She cracked an eye and looked at him leaning against the door jamb for a second. "What, the familiarity of a random woman in your bed or me with a book in my hands?"

He smirked, "I've never had a woman in this bed. So I'll go with the second."

She lifted her hands above her head for a stretch and told him, "It's a welcome sight to see me with a book in my hands. What a strange way to open a conversation."

"Hm, you're right. It's a welcome sight to see a lovely woman in my bed with a book in her hands. There, I like that one." He stood straight and sauntered over to the bed to sit facing her. "Did you fall asleep again?"

"No, I was examining the information."

"Ah, I was beginning to worry that you were a narcoleptic or some other such nonsense."

"Narcolepsy is a perfectly real diagnosis, I'll have you know. Regardless, I don't have any form of a sleeping disorder."

"Oh?" He kept his gaze on her and plucked the book from her hands, "Then why were you reading this?" His voice was merely curious, she thought.

"Why not?" She shrugged, feeling silly. "You never know when that kind of information might come in handy." He looked down at the book and back at her pointedly. "I just picked a book at random, Malfoy." She said with a laugh.

"Oh, back to Malfoy are we? I rather enjoyed how you say my name."

She mimicked the face he made when he was being arrogant, smirk and haughty eyebrows included. "I discovered that. I may have bruising on my lower back from that bookcase."

He licked his lower lip slowly, looking at her evilly, "Do you want me to kiss it and make it all better?" He asked, his voice a little rougher.

She arched an eyebrow, "Perhaps later." She suddenly remembered the rest of the world, and stopped flirting. "What time is it? Who was in your office? Any news yet on where Rowle is?"

He placed a hand on her calf over the sheets and started stroking along the lines of her leg as he answered, "It's nearly noon, Anthony and not yet. Lunch?"

She was about to fling back the covers and then remembered she had gone with a dress. "Yes, but can you give me a second?"

He frowned and looked at her quizzically. "First, you try and kick me out of my library, and now my own bedroom? Merlin, Granger. Get up or you'll get a spanking." His eyes held a glint of amusement but his tone told her he was not joking around.

She slid the covers off her bared legs and heard his hiss of approval at her actions. His voice tight, he told her, "That is a good transfiguration."

She smiled proudly and tucked her legs underneath her so she could slide to the edge of the bed and step to the floor without baring anything indecent. She was stopped by Draco before she could walk away. His hand was on her hip and he examined her for a moment. "Hermione." He said in a thick voice. He cleared his throat and continued, "I don't just want a one off. I don't do that. I don't want you to think that's ok. And teasing me…" He looked at her body again with hunger in his gaze. "Merlin, that's so not ok, it's nearly torture."

She looked at him for a moment, thinking. Finally she said, "I figured you would be the type to be ok with a one night stand. We couldn't have a relationship anyway, you live here, and I live in Ireland. There's a big difference."

"I'm pretty sure you don't have to work if you don't want to. Reparations would have been divided between you and the Golden Trio. You only work for Chang because you enjoy it."

"Yes I do. You can't seriously be asking me to come here and give up my whole life for a relationship with you based on a half-fake kiss and a real one? We barely know each other as you stated."

He stood and towered over her, "You can't tell me you don't feel the same as I do."

"Well, I don't know how you feel."

Doubt showed across his face. She was about to cross her arms across her chest in frustration when he pulled her closer to him and held her there. Her hands flew up while he was pulling her and now rested on his chest. "That you belong here." He said and lowered his lips to hers.

She let him kiss her, examining what he had said. Thought suddenly halted when he growled and she felt an answering clench of need. She whimpered and allowed her fingers to find his silky hair once more.

He pulled away and looked down at her once more. She felt slightly dazed and blinked several times to try and get her hormones under control. He told her, "Just think about it."

He gently took her hand and led her out of his private rooms and down to his office. They lunched in silence on the floor, Hermione had her back to the door and her legs tucked underneath her as she considered what he had said.

She remembered arguing with herself to stop seeing things which weren't there, but he was telling her they _were_ there. And to make matters worse, this whole time she had been in his company, she had been fighting liking him at all- other than little things. Multiple times, she had to stop herself from staring at him while he stared off into the distance, apparently lost in his own thoughts. She was about to start in on questioning him when he stood and helped her to her feet.

"We need to get to the surface. Ready?" He asked.

She nodded and followed him out the door.


	7. Chapter 7

The stairs were torture. Surely, she had offended some god in a previous life and she was being punished for it now. Five flights of stairs on sore legs being led by a quiet Draco Malfoy, this must be punishment. Or a nightmare. Filled with an unsatisfied need to jump on the man- who in her childhood had been the biggest bully- leading her up the narrow staircases which seemed endless.

Her attention was torn between his incredibly attractive jean-clad bottom taunting her with its squeezability and the incredible stiffness and soreness in her muscles of her thighs and calves. The soreness on one whole side of her body was nearly forgotten until this eternal trek up the stairs. The Mediwitch had healed the cuts and some of the bruises she had sustained when the building fell on her. Some of them had not yet begun to show, but the soreness across her ribcage and hip told her they were starting to form. She wanted to look, but couldn't until she was alone.

They didn't meet anyone on the stairs and when they reached the third floor and she glanced over to the cafeteria, she saw why not. The teachers were huddled together at a few tables all lunching together. She touched Draco's arm and nodded over to the entryway with a sad expression. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and whispered in her ear, "Remember- no one in there knows that Rowle may be in the Mission still. Do not mention it." As he finished he gave her a quick squeeze before releasing her to head toward the door.

He walked in with an air of confidence she wished she possessed. She followed him in nervously, half expecting to be greeted by everyone and requested to give out autographs as was common when she entered public places anywhere in the U.K. She was surprised that no one really even acknowledged her presence. What little talking there was ceased as every set of eyes turned to look at Draco.

He gave a smile to everyone and she sat down with Rose and Luis when they waved her over. She watched him walking around and greeting everyone pleasantly. The people in the room all seemed relieved at his presence and several people asked him where he had been. She couldn't hear his responses until he was at the table next to her as he told an old woman that he had been needed in the hospital wing for most of the day. He assured the woman that he knew he was not needed, as they were all capable of rebuilding the Mission without him getting in the way. The woman had cackled at his joke- yes, cackled, like a witch from a fairy tale.

He walked to the other side of the room behind Hermione, and she finally noticed that Luis and Rose had patiently waited for her to come back to reality with identical knowing smiles on their faces. "What?" She asked with a laugh.

"Oh, nothing," Rose said in a sing-songy voice, drawing out 'nothing'. She leaned on the back of her hand and looked at Luis with a gooey look, "Isn't it just _so_ romantic, honey?"

Luis chuckled and took her other hand in his. He raised it to his lips for a little peck on the back of her knuckles. "I remember when we were at that stage, oh the old days," He said with a feigned dramatic expression.

"What stage? What are you two talking about?" Hermione asked with a confused smile.

"Oh, you." Rose batted her lashes at her husband and then looked at Hermione. "Don't you realize yet your feelings for Mister Malfoy?" She asked her. "You obviously have grown closer since I last saw you." She leaned over the table and whispered, "And Anthony asked if you two were together, romantically since he saw you two kissing in the woods. I told him I didn't know. But I didn't mention anything about your past."

Hermione smiled softly to herself and looked at one of the paintings with a small blush. His plan had worked, at least, they were unconcerned with everything except the 'half-fake' kiss he had made sure someone would see. "A little." She said softly, telling herself that she needed to keep up the ruse… definitely she was not… really… bookcase… She blushed harder.

Rose was watching her and said, "Oh, girl, you've got it bad."

She looked at Rose sharply and saw the woman was very happy at the news. Luis was grinning with his head on Rose's shoulder. Hermione sighed and debated telling them about the bookcase and the conversation which had happened in his room. That one though, she was certain had not been for the sake of continuing his ruse. He had obviously wanted to kiss her again. But to tell them the confusion about the half-fake kiss, as he called it, as opposed to the real ones would reveal the ruse.

Draco had told her, though, that there was someone in the Mission who was really Rowle. It could be either of them. She wondered if she should trust them. She decided suddenly that she could not. Not until Rowle was caught. Either one of them could be Polyjuiced. So she simply went along with the lie for now. Or was it a half-lie? Even though Rose had mentioned something she had told her before all this madness started it wasn't enough to convince her that neither of them was Rowle.

"I think I do," She said softly, putting on a totally and completely fake daydreamy expression. Maybe she was thinking about how nice he was being, and how he had all but asked her to be in a relationship with him, but the expression was totally fake. Right. Totally fake. She cleared her throat and looked at them in a more serious manner, "What have you two been up to since I last saw you?" She asked.

"Talking about how cute of a couple the two of you make," Luis said quietly.

Rose laughed, "Hey, that's supposed to be between us." Luis laughed with her and Hermione joined in at their antics.

"You two teasing Hermione?" Draco asked from behind Hermione.

Rose quirked an eyebrow at her temporary boss and answered, "I'm pretty sure that is exactly what we are doing," With a grin.

The talking in the room was a bit louder since they had entered, Hermione noticed. He seemed to have reassured and reenergized the staff of the school in the short time they had been in there. She remembered the leadership qualities Slytherins were said to possess. Apparently, Draco had that particular quality in abundance as she could see from the difference he had made in a few moments with his temporary employees.

"Well, then. I suppose I should take her away from this potentially uncomfortable situation as soon as possible." He placed a large and warm hand on her shoulder. She felt her face turning red again at the memory of how that callused hand had felt on the sensitive skin of her belly.

"Too late," Primrose said with a wink at Hermione. "Already made her blush through half of the conversation."

Hermione looked at Rose, aghast, willing her to shut up before she told him what they had been talking about.

"Oh?" Draco said, sitting on the bench next to Hermione. His thigh was just touching hers. "You've got to tell me how to do that. I've yet to get under her skin."

Luis chuckled, "Oh, I don't know about that."

Hermione cleared her throat uncomfortably and said, "Well, I think I'll go find a hole to die in."

They started laughing. Draco took her hand over the table and kissed the back of it.

Another table erupted in laughter behind them and Draco relaxed his shoulders slightly, Hermione noticed. It was then that she realized the many ways he could be using this conversation. She marveled at his brilliance for a second as she thought it. It was to relax people, give him an excuse to make someone laugh, though she doubted he had expected to… no, even the conversation with Rose and Luis could have been expected. The pair of them were his friends, Rose had told her.

Rose was asking Draco about the state of the Mission and what else needed to be done, Hermione tuned them out for a moment, and directed her attention to her thoughts.

She remembered a psychology paper she had read years before. It had analyzed the effects of laughter in high stress situations. By making one group laugh, the paper had concluded, it would make people more likely to begin laughing themselves and that- of course- could make the tenseness of some situations easier to deal with. If Malfoy had any idea of the findings of this paper, it was a marvelous way for him to get the staff back to a semblance of normalcy. She wondered about his manipulation of the group, could she just be imagining it?

Another table laughed together to her right and she glanced around quickly. Much of the sadness was gone- even from the faces of the groups which had not yet had a good laugh. She peeked over at Draco quickly and saw he looked even more relaxed than he had even a few seconds before.

Could she be going nuts? He had an expression on his face which made her believe he had a plan which was working out the way he wanted it to as he listened to Luis speaking about the kitchens. He was talking about the smoker needing repairs which would have to be done by hand to not add the flavor of magic to the meats. Maybe the situation was just relaxing him because his presence alone made people less upset. His natural arrogance seemed to make this a probable option also. It would definitely feed into his ego.

She looked at the table beyond him and saw Anthony looking around sulkily, but his was the only one which did not have a relaxed expression on it. Anthony glanced up and met her eyes. He gave her a strange grin and she gave him a little wave which he returned.

Draco looked down at her and she smiled up at him briefly, a little perturbed at Anthony's expression. Draco frowned so briefly that she almost missed it. She would make sure to mention Anthony to him. Anthony had appeared to have a great sense of humor during the brief time she had spoken to him, and she didn't really know how his relationship was with the Headmaster.

Maybe she was overanalyzing. She shook her head at herself, realizing she probably was. There was no need to mention Anthony to Draco, he could just be upset. The image of his smile resurfaced in her mind's eye briefly and she shoved it back. It was a fake smile. But if he was upset, then it would be perfectly normal for him to be faking a grin.

She was probably overanalyzing about thinking that Draco was manipulating the group, also. It was probably a coincidence, and because she was starting to think of him… differently. She was looking for all parts of his personality to be ideal. She mentally slapped herself. She was acting like a schoolgirl with a crush. He was not a saint, just gorgeous, sexy, kind, intelligent… She could feel herself getting a dreamy expression as she thought about him and made herself stop.

She tuned back into the conversation while Draco was saying, "…Get back to the surface soon. The sun will get too hot before too much longer, so I guess we should get going."

Hermione was glad she had tuned back in at the right time. He was standing next to her and she slid off the bench. They said their good-byes and Draco stopped before exiting the room and turned around. In a raised voice, he said, "The rest of this week is paid vacation, as long as you stay in the Mission. For the rest of today, we are still under lockdown. Tomorrow, please see me if you would rather not stay."

There was an excited buzz as people began talking about his announcement. Hermione waited until they were out of sight of the doorway and took his elbow with a smile. He bent his arm automatically and smiled back down at her. "We can't do the stairs like this," He said softly.

She squeezed his bicep and slid her hand out from the crook of his elbow. He led her up the last two flights of stairs without saying anything. They reached the surface which had a hot breeze running through the half-repaired mission walls. She looked back to the stairs, thinking she had heard footsteps briefly behind them. There was no one there.

There were Aurors in the courtyard, patrolling the perimeter. The one just outside of the Mission's entryway asked Draco for a password. "Lottery," He answered. Hermione was disgusted by the man immediately. He smelled terrible and had yellow teeth. His cheeks were unshaven and stubbly. He was fat and had waxy skin from not bathing enough.

The Auror nodded and looked at Hermione. "Who is this, Mr. Malfoy?" He unabashedly looked her up and down as though checking her out.

"Hermione Granger," Draco answered stiffly.

The Auror pulled out a rolled parchment from his robes. After a moment, he asked her, "Can you please verify your status in the Mission?"

"Ward of the Headmaster?" She said confusedly. She could see Draco becoming rigid next to her.

"And can you confirm your marriage status?" The Auror asked.

She glanced at Draco, thinking the question inappropriate. He was frowning as she said, "Single?"

The Auror looked at her sharply, "Is that a question or a statement?"

Draco tensed and said angrily, "You do not have to know that, let us pass."

The Auror looked at Draco severely. Draco met his gaze with fire in his eyes and Hermione was nearly frightened herself. "I can ask whatever I like." The man growled.

Draco grinned, and it was not a nice grin. "Really? And how exactly does her marriage status help you to identify her?"

The man's face turned red, "How dare you question me?"

"How dare you ask my ward for her marriage status? You only need one confirmation as you well know. You are going beyond your duty, and-"

The man interrupted, "You know nothing of my duty. You're nothing but a bureaucrat!"

Draco raised his wand to the sky, with an angry grin on his face and spoke a single word. Head Auror Avery Apparated nearby and came over. "What is it?"

"This man needs to be removed from the Mission immediately."

"Why?"

"He has been nothing but insulting since he arrived, as usual, and I do not want him making this situation any more difficult for anyone."

The fat Auror tried to speak, Avery silenced him with his wand before he got out a full word. "How has he been insulting this time, Mr. Malfoy?"

"By asking for Miss Granger's marriage status unnecessarily and telling me I was no more than a bureaucrat."

Avery smirked and looked at the now red-faced Auror next to him. "A bureaucrat? Do you have any idea what this man has done in his time here?" The Auror shook his head. "Let's leave it at he's no bureaucrat, Knob."

Draco looked at him with his eyebrows raised. Avery continued, "Oh, you thought we wouldn't open your file? I didn't know half of the things you've done." He offered his hand to Draco and Draco took it and shook it, severely.

Hermione looked up at the blonde's face, surprised. She was incredibly curious at what the man was alluding to. "Come on Knob," Avery said, "Let's get you into your new assignment. At a desk. You pig."

"Oh, Avery," Draco said. Avery turned and looked at him with eyebrows raised. "Any news on the potions?"

Avery looked at Hermione and then at Knob. He shook his head once and walked away.

"So… what did we come up here for?" Hermione said uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry. That man has been giving me trouble for a long time." He cleared his throat. "We are up here to check the security measures the Aurors have set up."

"And why are you more than a bureaucrat?"

He smirked and waved to one of the Aurors. He was a tall black man with an angular face. He had his hair neatly trimmed and a short goatee which was carefully maintained to have straight lines. "Hey Benny, good to see someone with some brains in his head."

The Auror walked over with an answering grin and shook Draco's hand. "I'm sure. Knob giving you trouble?" He gestured that they should walk in the courtyard.

"As always. This is Hermione Granger by the way. Granger, this is Lieutenant Benjamin Ptyalin." She looked at him briefly while Draco was speaking. He was taller than Draco. His eyes were very serious, but he had an easy smile which crinkled his eyes in a way which made him seem much younger. He had a large scar running across his face from one eye all the way to the opposite side of his jaw.

He shook her hand and told her, "Good afternoon, Ms. Granger, it's nice to meet you." He turned back to Draco after she responded in kind. They started walking away from the building as Benjamin began to speak, "Coming to check the security, I'd wager. Your friend never believes in the abilities of Aurors, Ms. Granger." He rolled his eyes. Hermione tried to figure out where his accent was from. She only knew it sounded sort of like the ones from Texas she had heard in movies. He said some words differently.

"Not while there are people like Knob on the force anyway," Draco said with a laugh.

His face sobered and he responded to Draco's unasked question, "Well, we've set up a perimeter as you can see. Hourly checks of the interior entryways and the Floo access points are shut down inside the Mission. The children have all been escorted, as per your orders, as you well know. We are set up for tomorrow if any staff members wish to leave and all owls are stopped for now." They had reached a large twisted tree which was growing at the corner of the courtyard and walked around its knobby roots sticking out of the ground. They followed the wall of the courtyard which towered even over the Lieutenant's head.

Draco nodded, satisfied. "Good. Any unusual activity?"

The lieutenant thought for a moment. He glanced down at Hermione who was walking next to Draco. "Good to speak?"

"She's read in, as you would say," Draco answered with a quick glance and a smile to Hermione.

The Lieutenant nodded and answered, "No, nothing unusual. Of course we don't know your staff, but the only people who have come up have been Drilb, the Hernandez's and what's that boy's name from the kitchen's? Garcia, I think."

Draco frowned, "What was Garcia doing up here?"

"Delivering lunch, he had a letter from the kitchen manager, Hernandez."

"Did he say anything while he was up here?"

"Garcia?"

"No, Hernandez."

"Oh, he told us what Garcia would be delivering and when. He and his wife were coming to harvest some plants in the greenhouses."

Draco nodded. "Good. Just checking. Are you forwarding your reports to my office?"

"Yes, Hourly reports which should be there currently."

"Who's been taking them down?"

"Anthony Drilb. That's why he came up, to get them and deliver them."

"Good. I'm glad you're up here, Benny." Draco said as he clapped the taller man on the shoulder.

"Sure wish it was a cooler time of the year, I'm not ashamed to say."

"Well, can't do anything about it. Gotta protect the lady," Draco said impersonating Benjamin's accent.

"Oh?" Benjamin asked looking at her again. "And why is that? Not just 'cause she's pretty, I take it."

Hermione felt herself blush and looked down. Draco answered, "No, although she is that." Hermione's blush got worse. "She's the object of the madman's attention. Though it apparently is not because of her good looks." He chuckled.

There was a pause in the conversation, and Hermione started to look up. Slightly annoyed that they had been talking about her as though she was not there, she asked, "Lieutenant, what are your people doing to find Rowle?"

He looked at her intensely for a moment. With a nod from Draco he answered, "We are running identification potions on all of the staff from our end. None of the staff knows the reason why they were asked to give a drop of blood as a sample, we told them we were double checking for potential biological influences. The potions take 4-6 hours to identify. Then with our technicians we check them against staff records which are given at the beginning of their employment processes. Getting those released took most of the morning. We have started the potions as of ten-hundred hours."

"And what if Rowle changes faces in the meantime?" She asked.

"Well, that's why no one knows we even suspect he may be within the Mission."

"You're assuming he doesn't already know we suspect him in the Mission. What if he's… highly placed?"

The Lieutenant eyed her for a moment. "That's a good point. Who knows exactly, Draco?"

Draco was looking at her with his mouth open. She had no idea what to make of his expression. After a second, he snapped his jaws shut and his expression changed to determined. He answered, "The two of us and you, Avery and his aide," He paused for an instant as though thinking. "Anthony was there for the whole questioning process, so he would know. And that should be it."

She remembered Anthony's grin and how strange it had seemed at the time. She opened her mouth to say something, but Benjamin beat her to speaking, "We need to run tests on Avery and his aide immediately and I'll put my blood into the testing pile, too." He grabbed her shoulders and said, "Ms. Granger, you're a peach." He kissed her cheek and then Apparated away.

Draco looked excited and worried at the same time, "Come on, we need to get back to my quarters as a precaution." He grabbed her hand and gave it a tug before he started taking long strides back into the Mission.

"Malfoy," She said. He either didn't hear her or ignored her. "Malfoy!" She all but shouted and pulled back against his hand.

He turned and looked at her. His face looked terrified before he slipped on his mask and stopped walking. "What?" He answered in an irritated tone.

She looked around and realized they were right next to a window to the interior of the Mission. She gestured at the opening and waved him to come away from it. He followed her to the middle of the courtyard and sat on a bench out of earshot of the Aurors patrolling around them and the window.

"That was good thinking, Granger, I had not even realized that we missed something so obvious," He said quietly.

She smiled thinly and asked him, "Has Anthony seemed a little off to you?"

His face went through several emotions very quickly, surprise, thinking, frowning, anger, rage. "You think it's Anthony? I need you to tell me right now why you think that."

She was a little afraid of him for a second and then she told him about seeing him in the cafeteria and how strange his grin had seemed. "I thought he just looked upset, but I was scared as soon as I made eye contact with him."

"That's it?"

She looked down at her dress, shyly. "Yes," She whispered.

He sat back and leaned his weight on his arms. "He has seemed strange. I'm not angry at you. I was hoping it was something more concrete than the same feeling of unease around him that I have." She peeked up at him under her brows. He was examining the sky. Nearby, the Auror who had taken Knob's place was asking someone for their password. Draco looked up sharply when he heard the answer to the challenge. "It's Anthony," He whispered. "Kiss or discussion?"

"Discussion." She whispered without listening. He took one of her hands in both of his and began trailing his fingertips along her forearm. She looked at him, startled and saw he was looking up at her as though hanging on every word she said.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a plaid shirt turning the corner. She looked at Draco and constructed her face into her lecturing face and started saying the first thing she could think of, "So the paper concluded that general laughter in large groups releases certain enzymes and hormones in people who felt part of the group, regardless of if they were laughing or not."

"That paper was really interesting, I'm sorry I just didn't recognize the title," He answered, resting his hand on her thigh and making circles with his thumb. She saw Anthony glance at them curiously but continue walking out of her line of sight and into Draco's. "I've been able to utilize some of its' theories in large scale settings and they have proven to be effective. Why even today, in the cafeteria. It worked splendidly, I think." She saw him watching Anthony as he walked into his line of sight. He suddenly looked into her face again. "I've always wondered why laughter is contagious to some people. I suppose this paper answered the question."

She laughed, it sounded fake to her own ears. "Can we go back inside? It's hot out here." She said with a meaningful look at Draco and a tilt of her head toward where Anthony had gone.

He smiled, "Of course. You've no idea how I've missed you all this time we've been apart." He glanced to the back of the Mission as he spoke and waved. "Hey, Anthony!" He called as though just noticing the man was there. Hermione turned and gave him another smile and a wave. Anthony had been leaning against the wall of the Mission, maybe watching them, maybe doing something else, Hermione couldn't tell. Anthony waved back at them. Draco called out, "Those reports are in my office?" Anthony nodded and gave him a thumbs-up. Then he stood and walked toward the stables.

Draco's face became strangely pinched as he watched his friend walk around the corner. Draco led her back into the Mission at a stroll. "I'm very worried it may be Anthony," He whispered as they walked. "He's never been so serious. Let's hurry." He kept his expression very like one would expect to see when a young man was in love. She held his elbow and tried not to look behind them at every step. He nodded to the Auror at the door and led her toward the stairs.

Her heart started beating harder when she heard boot steps walking past one of the Mission's windows, headed toward the entrance. She could tell Draco not only heard them, but was trying not to break into a run. He was very tense and she could feel his muscles shaking slightly under her fingertips. He pushed her in front of him and whispered, "Hurry."

A/N: So, reviews are nice, guys. I haven't gotten a whole lot (four as of today) and I'm starting to get a bit anxious about people's opinions. Do you like it? Do you hate it but can't stop reading until you find out who done it? I am so curious!

There will be a reason for that M tag in 4 chapters, by the way. It has some very light BDSM mostly in the form of control. I'll make it very clear when that starts if it makes anyone uncomfortable.


	8. Chapter 8

He released her hand from his elbow and kissed her gently on the forehead. Even his lips felt tense. She was trying desperately to not look behind them to see if Anthony was behind them. She was certain it was him. They went down.

Luis was in the process of entering the staircase from the cafeteria and paused at the landing when he saw them coming, smiling in greeting. It faltered when he saw Draco's face. "Rose was wondering if you were still coming to dinner tonight, Draco," He asked hesitatingly. Hermione stopped just past Luis and clutched her elbows trying to not look worried.

Draco's face must have changed, because she could see Luis' confusion wavering. He seemed to be thinking he had mistaken the original expression. "No, not with all of the goings on around here. I'll have to make plans for another night. Give Rose my love, I'll come and see you both tomorrow I hope." He said, pausing on the first stair to answer. His voice still sounded a little off to Hermione, but Luis didn't seem to notice it.

"Well, that I can understand. No problem. We'll send along a pumpkin bread loaf the next time we see you, then," He said with his laidback smile.

Draco started walking again, passing Hermione, and told Luis as he passed him, "It'll be sooner then, if pumpkin bread is coming my way," He turned to finish his sentence and Hermione almost believed there was nothing wrong, even though she knew otherwise.

"Hi Luis. Bye Luis," Hermione said as she followed him.

She heard him chuckling behind her as they continued to a different staircase. There was a group of teachers idly chatting as they passed the cafeteria. Draco waved at them, but didn't call out. He pulled Hermione in front of him before starting the next stairwell. "No good way to protect you when you're behind me." He told her gruffly. "Luis probably stopped Anthony to talk, but still, just in case."

Her thighs were burning as she went down each step. She really must go to the gym more often, she told herself. She could feel her worry increasing as she began to hear faint echoes of boots coming down the same stairs they had just left.

She reached the landing and Draco pointed to the next stairwell over her shoulder. She ran down the last set, feeling like her doom was behind her. Draco directed her to his private quarters again by taking her hand and nearly running to the safety the door offered.

He slammed the door behind them and leaned against it. His face was flushed but he seemed much less out of breath than she. She put her palms on the desk in the middle of the room and allowed herself to pant. She heard him whispering and recognized his spells putting even more wards up. "I have to go to my office and get those reports. You should be safe," He said hurriedly. He glanced at her and she nearly forgot to breathe. He looked incredibly anxious, but somehow, even with his silky hair mussed and his cheeks still flushed, his shirt coming untucked and sweat on his brow, he was by far the most handsome she had ever seen him.

She cursed her attraction to him, she had barely heard what he had said because of that damned sexiness he exuded. _Damn him, _she caught herself thinking. She forced herself to nod. He raced back out of the door and she lifted herself to sit on the desk. She was still trying to catch her breath and trying desperately not to think of how much danger she was in.

The amount of protections around her should make her feel more comfortable, but somehow it made her feel slightly claustrophobic. In addition to that, she realized in a moment of wild clarity she had no idea what the sleeping arrangements were for the evening. She would ask him as soon as he got back, but in the meantime, she stared at the door anxiously waiting for him.

The door was flung open and she jumped even though she was staring straight at it. Draco came into the room holding a thick stack of papers and shut the door with his foot. He leaned against it, closed his eyes in relief and slid to the floor with a sigh, his legs sticking out in front of him. He looked so boyish in that moment, she wanted to comfort him.

She stood from her perch and padded over to him. His eyes were still closed and she slid onto the ground next to him. Slowly, she reached her hand out to him and brushed the fringe of hair off of his forehead. He opened his eyes and looked at her steadily, his grey eyes captivating her for a moment. She stroked his hair again without thinking and his eyes slipped half shut as he leaned into her hand. He sighed softly and seemed to relax.

"You'll be the death of me I'll bet," He said quietly.

"Probably. I'm sorry if I am," She answered in a low voice.

He opened his eyes and sat up, "Here, read these," He said, giving her about half the stack. "I want to figure out- if we can- how long he has not been Anthony."

She lifted the stack and took it to one of the armchairs. He stood with a grunt and sat in the chair next to her with his own stack. They spent the next hour reading dry reports detailing little more than who was on duty and who had come and gone. There were about thirty reports all told since the Aurors had arrived and begun their protection.

She read the early ones which were full of comings and goings of people. There had been no corresponding attacks which they could cross reference aside from the original one, so they focused instead on where their five suspects had been, if available, during the reports.

Only one really stuck out to her, 'Anthony Drilb leaving temp. camp 12:05 approx, return at 13:30. Purpose: check animals at school. Unaccompanied at his insistence.'

She put it to the side to show to Draco when they compared notes. He had about five papers set aside to show her. She finished just after he did and they compared their six papers. One of his was about Avery, two were about his assistant and the last two were about Anthony. The times of what the purpose reported didn't add up.

But, before they had even left, Anthony was registered as coming to the meeting place twice, from two different Aurors. Anthony had been standing right next to Draco, he was certain, during the second. Anthony had already returned and was listening to Rose and Luis give their explanations of what happened. Yet the report told them that he entered from the east and noted that it was him entering camp for the first time.

The first he was accompanied by Rose and Luis.

Avery's assistant had left from a post in the woods, according to the report at 15:28 and come back less than an hour later to a different post. A scant few minutes after she left, Avery had left from yet another post and had not returned. Hermione and Draco had seen them leave by Apparition around noon and Draco assured her that they had not returned. Rowle was the only one who could have been impersonating them.

They could not figure out his movements precisely. But it was certain he had taken one of the three's faces during their time in the woods, and was still wearing it. The information was just not enough for them to decide.

They discussed it until around 5:30, when Draco told her to come with him to his office so they could eat. She asked him why they couldn't eat in his quarters. He answered, "No food can pass that door."

He held his hand out and led her to the office cautiously. Rowle probably knew they were onto him by now. If he was Anthony, he had seen them acting suspiciously. If it were Avery or the Assistant, he would have given up the potion containing their essence by now.

She settled on the floor as the food appeared before her. "Shouldn't the identification potion be done by now?" She asked, trying to decide which piece of cornbread she wanted.

"It should. They would have alerted us if they had any positive result," He sounded tired.

"Did Anthony get tested along with everyone else?" She asked looking at him, worriedly.

"No, at the time he gave me a coded message we had set up for the highest ranking officials in the school. That was sufficient proof that it wasn't Rowle. So I immediately took him out of the suspicious group. But now that we have taken a closer look, the identification process we are currently using is going to be inconclusive. It's one of the three and I guess we won't know for sure who he is until he chooses to make his move."

She thought for a moment and remembered her earlier worry, "Draco, how are we going to do the sleeping arrangements?"

He smirked, "Well, I can imagine a scenario which would please us both physically… but maybe not morally."

Her mouth opened in shock, "Tell me you didn't just say that."

He looked at her seriously, "I did. And I meant it. I don't want a once off, but," His eyes raked over her once again, "I'll take what you will give."

She mimicked his smirk and told him haughtily, "Perhaps a once off won't be enough for me either, I suppose it depends on what _you_ give."

He grinned, "Oh, my dear, the things I would give to you." He sighed and sipped his iced tea. "Are not really pleasant dinner topics." He finished.

She lay down on her side with her arm bent to support her head. She wanted to know if he was bluffing, so she felt the need to play with him a bit. She could see his eyes slowly taking in her curves. When his eyes finally met hers she told him in a low voice, "Please, humor me."

He smirked once more. She saw he was about to speak when she heard the door open behind her.

"Finally I have the two of you alone. Now I can kill you together." Said a voice behind her.

Things happened so fast afterward that she often would have to imagine herself observing from above rather than with her own eyes. She had jumped at the voice, and began to turn. She had seen Anthony, but his accent was gone, and so was the carefree look on his face she had seen when she first met him. Draco flew over her. He must have jumped across the office, but to Hermione's adrenaline-powered slowed-down time he simply flew across it.

Anthony had a wand in his hand and had cast some spell. Draco had crumpled to the floor. It was so strange, his momentum should have carried him across the room to tackle the man wearing Anthony's face, but when the spell had been cast, he stopped midair and fallen straight down.

Hermione did not allow herself to stay still, her survival instincts which had been honed in war took over. She rolled to the side, not caring what her clothing was revealing in the face of danger. Springing up, she had cast a strong protection charm around her body and another around Draco without even thinking about either one. Her magic seemed to have its own version of muscle memory.

'Anthony' began to turn to her with the killing curse on his lips in a strangely high-pitched voice and she let out a feral scream as Moody had taught her so very long ago. _Scream and surprise your attacker_ his gruff voice echoed in her mind, _that half second for them to get over the shock could mean your life._ He was right, 'Anthony's wand jerked and the green jet coming from it missed her wildly. Books flew off the shelves and crashed all around her. Her protection spell told her she would have been hit several times had she not cast it.

She let her instincts take over, casting spells to disarm, wound, restrain, whatever her magic demanded she try next. 'Anthony' really was an excellent duelist, he blocked or deflected all of them.

From the corner of her eye, she saw white-blonde hair moving. She did not allow her eyes nor her head to turn in that direction. She barely even registered that she had seen it in her focus on her enemy. A brief flash from Draco's wand nearly distracted her, but she forced her mind to remain focused on Rowle.

His form was beginning to waver, and she realized his Polyjuice was wearing off. He was becoming smaller, more broad and lighter skinned as she continued trying to hit him with hexes she still had stored in her memory from her teenage years. His clothes were becoming too long and too tight at the same time, and she absently noted that she now had more of an advantage.

She started moving, running around the desk, forcing him to turn in order to keep her in his sight while he turned his back to Draco. His attention was on her only. He stumbled slightly over his too large boots and she successfully hit him with a stinging hex. While his attention was diverted she cast an immobilizing spell, but he blocked it. "Adava-" He started to hiss.

From behind him, ropes started wrapping around his body, stopping the spell. From behind the door, came many voices from the corridor. Rowle screamed in fury and tried to Apparate, not knowing that no one was able to inside the building. He fell to his side, wrapped in tight ropes as the Aurors burst into the room. He screamed in an oddly high voice, "Criminals! They are the criminals! Arrest them!"

Hermione's adrenaline had not yet receded, and she was having what could be described as a flashback, she barely managed to stop herself from casting spells at the Aurors. She forced her hand to release her wand, dropping it on the floor. Her eyes seemed to be picking up every movement in the area and she was trying to calm down desperately. The Auror's came closer to her after silencing Rowle and she flinched backwards, raising her hands defensively without thinking about it.

The Auror saw the reaction and put away his wand, nodding to his partner to do the same. They held up their hands and the first one told her, "The threat is restrained Miss Granger. Take a deep breath. Do you remember me? We met earlier."

She felt like she desperately needed one, so she took a lungful of air. She could smell the cologne and books, she felt a switch in her mind flip. Time sped up to its normal pace and she felt less like she was about to injure everyone around her if they came too close. Hesitantly, she said, "You are… Lieutenant… Benjamin Ptyalin. I met you in the courtyard. You called me a peach."

The Lieutenant smiled. His partner looked back and forth, confused. She looked down at her dress and saw it was ripped up the front to just below her crotch. Draco was waving the other two Aurors off of him and he walked over to her. "You're bleeding," He said as he came closer.

"I ripped your shirt," She told him, feeling stupid.

He touched her hair gently and smiled thinly. "It's ok, I can fix it." She allowed him to tend to the small cut on her leg while she wearily kept an eye on the restrained young man on the floor. He finished and waved his wand to fix the rip in the shirt.

"We need to get reports." One of the Aurors said, next to Hermione.

She sighed and looked at Draco as he stood. She felt more normal now that her adrenaline was receding. His face clearly showed he was thinking the same thing as her, _Seriously?_

She had to tell the story twice and Draco had to say it three times before they were through. Head Auror Avery made them tell it again when he got there. His assistant was taking notes with her astonished face looking up at Draco as he spoke. Hermione felt something close to jealousy when she noticed the young woman checking him out when he turned to get something off his desk. She itched for her wand.

The Aurors had taken hers and Draco's for brief examination of the spells they had cast. For 'Supporting evidence' as they had put it. She settled for crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at the bespectacled young woman. She seemed to feel the anger and cast a glance at Hermione. She blushed and kept her eyes on the paper she was writing on after that. When she glanced at Draco again, he was smirking down at her as he spoke and she wondered if he had seen the interaction. She shrugged at him and walked over to Rowle.

They were going to put him on trial, but for the moment were satisfied with having him restrained and silenced on the floor. Hermione stared at him, trying to figure out his motives. He was blonde and seemed to not even have his beard yet on his young face. She wondered about his age, he seemed like he might be 15 if he was lucky. Blue eyes filled with hatred stared out of his young face. He was writhing on the floor as she approached and had a wild expression, a mixture of rage and fear. _Surely he must know I wouldn't hurt him…_ She thought to herself as he flinched. The Auror standing next to the prisoner watched her closely.

"He seems to have a strong reaction to you," The man said. "Do you know who he is?"

"I don't," She answered, her voice feeling sore. "But he knows me from the war, I think."

"What war?" The Auror asked, curiously.

She looked up at him, seeing he was also very young. Maybe it was his first assignment, at the very least he was not old enough to have learned much about the war in Britain during his childhood. "There was a war in Britain when I was young, I was a major player in it. So was he," She gestured to Draco absently. She sighed, "I'd honestly thought it was finally over with. That people would stop hunting me down for their own purposes. Clearly it isn't."

She realized suddenly that she understood why Draco had stayed. These people only had a vague knowledge of the war. They had no idea who either of them were. It was honestly a relief for the young Auror to be looking at her with merely polite interest. It was what she had always craved. Even in Ireland, people in the Wizarding community still approached her and asked for her autograph, children told her constantly that she was their second hero- after Harry of course.

Reporters had found her flat in Ireland and began trying to convince her to do a 'War Hero- 10 Years Later' interview for the upcoming anniversary. Ron had already done his, and Harry was supposed to be doing one in the next couple of weeks. That was the whole reason for her vacation. So she could escape the barrage of people trying to give her gifts constantly in celebration of the anniversary.

She felt free suddenly in this young man's ignorance of who she was. Free from what she had never even thought of as a prison. She laughed suddenly and everyone looked at her. She ignored them and looked at Draco with a smile. He gave her a wink as though he knew what was going on in her head. He probably did, she thought. He probably had the exact same realization before deciding to stay in America. The talking in the room recommenced and she looked back at Rowle who was looking at her and writhing still on the ground.

"Thank you." She whispered forcefully and walked away as his face turned red from screaming. He had tried to kill her and ended up freeing her. She stood next to Draco and gently took his hand in both of hers. He raised an eyebrow when he looked down at her, but continued telling the Head Auror and his assistant about how Rowle had tried to kill Hermione.

Finally, the Aurors took their prisoner and bid them a pleasant rest of their day. Draco had seen them out to the stairs and when he returned, Hermione was curled in a corner having a cry.

He sat on the floor next to her and touched her arm softly. She wiped off her face with her hand quickly and looked at him. He opened his arms and she allowed herself to rest awkwardly against his chest. He didn't ask what was wrong, he didn't try and comfort her, he simply tucked her under his chin and held her. She breathed in the spicy cologne hovering around him and tried to settle her emotions.

When her breathing became more normal and not full of hitches, he said, "Figured it out have you?" His voice rumbled in his chest and against her head.

She sighed, "As cliché as it is to say, I can see why this is the 'land of the free'."

He chuckled, "That really is corny, as they say here."

She lifted herself to be sitting closer to his warmth. "Maybe I should stay. Not to be with you, mind. But for me."

She felt him rest his cheek on the top of her head, "I should hope you would never have considered coming to stay just for me. I was just giving you some incentive. Some amazing incentive."

She slapped his chest as she backed away to be able to look at him, "You're so full of yourself."

He smirked, "How could I not be? You saw the way that assistant of Avery's was looking at me. I get that all the time," He puffed his chest out proudly as he said it.

She rolled her eyes.

"Well, anyway. Let's get to the surface if you're still up for it," He said, slipping his fingers through his hair. "I have few clues to where Rowle hid Anthony, but I have an idea where we could find him."

"The Aurors didn't even mention him! And I hadn't even spared a thought!" She got up quickly.

He led her to the stairs and then looked at her seriously. "Are you sure you have the strength to make it up all these stairs?"

She smiled up at him, feeling particularly fit at the moment. "I just battled a boy who destroyed the Mission when he first entered. And I won. I can do anything." She answered.

He smirked, "Would have never won if it weren't for me."

"Hey, I was doing fine without your pig-headed self. You were just laying around on the floor letting me do all the dirty work!" She answered, putting her hands on her hips.

"Uh, excuse me, lying on the floor _is_ the dirty work, thank you very much," He turned to the stairs and preceded her while she stood there indignant.

"You are seriously going to take the credit for this aren't you?" She asked as she climbed the stairs two at a time to catch up to him.

"Well, if you go back to Ireland, who will say otherwise?" He said smugly.

"Oh, you and your damn manipulations," She muttered to herself, already regretting making the trip up the stairs as her legs screamed in agony. By the second flight of stairs, she was puffing. By the end of the third, she just wanted to sit. The last two she felt like she was just learning to walk all over again. Her joints wanted nothing more than to collapse. Draco turned at the top of the stairs and looked down at what must be a red and sweaty face in the gathering twilight.

"Well come on. Sun's already setting."

She felt the overwhelming need to throttle him and that urge was what gave her the strength to make those last few steps. But when she got to the landing, she found she did not have the energy to snuff out his life, so she laughed at him instead. "Is this your version of encouragement?"

"If I have to, I will carry you. Come on, I'm so sure I know where he is." He seemed really excited to be off, he was bouncing on the balls of his feet and snapping his fingers to an imaginary beat. She had never seen him like this and wondered about it for a moment while she followed him around the building. He did seem friendlier with Anthony than even with Luis or Rose. They turned the corner toward the stable and she remembered coming here the first time fondly. The sisters were waiting around the corner and some light flirting with Draco from Anthony. She felt herself smiling faintly at the memory.

Draco came and took her hand, "A little further, come on we have to get to the stables." She huffed tiredly and followed him. He had so much energy and she had so little left. Of course _he_ hadn't been in a life-or-death fight. _He_ had gotten knocked to the ground in the first few seconds and left the battle to her. _His_ magic wasn't exhausted.

She felt a tingle in her hand and looked down. There was energy flowing from Draco's clasped hand and into hers, she tried to stop him. He looked over his shoulder and grinned. He was doing it on purpose. _Git. Prat. _

The stables were hot and stuffy. There were no horses left inside to nicker a welcome. But the lights overhead were lit to give the stables some warm light. She looked around curiously while Draco listened intently. To her right was a large enclosure with bars containing several of the ugliest creatures she had ever seen. They looked a bit like furless dogs, but they walked on two legs. Their eyes shone in the dark and they were eyeing Hermione and Draco. She was tapping Draco on the shoulder frantically before she even realized she was frightened.

He looked at her, she saw out of the corner of her eye. She was frozen looking at the monsters in the cage. He covered her eyes for a second, she felt her terror stop nearly completely. He grasped her head forcing her to turn before uncovering her eyes. She opened them and his face was right in front of her. He pecked her on the lips and laughed when she jumped.

"Don't look at them. Chupacabras can mesmerize before you even know it," He whispered.

She nodded and listened for movement. She heard a small rustling noise coming from above them in the loft. She got Draco's attention pointed to her ear and then to the loft. As she followed the path of her finger, she saw a single piece of hay floating from the loft toward the ground. Draco saw it too and grinned at her. He ran to the ladder which he quickly ascended. There was more rustling and she heard a fearful shout, but not from Draco, he was grinning like a lunatic.

"What? Did you expect someone else to rescue you? I'm your knight in shining armor, handsome." Draco said, Hermione started smiling too, knowing he had found his friend. The hay moved in a lump and Anthony stood, there was a faint clinking noise as he did so. He was naked, Hermione saw with a blush. There were chains on his hands and another around his neck which Draco removed after trying a few different spells. Anthony remained silent until the chains were removed.

"Could I borrow a few pieces of said armor? It's been awful itchy without clothes up here," Anthony drawled, his voice raspy, when he was able. She could see he was covering his front while he spoke to Draco. With a shrug, Draco took off his shirt and handed it to Anthony. Anthony asked, "What'm I supposed to do with this? M'naughty bits are a bit lower."

Draco pulled out his wand and transfigured the shirt into a pair of pants. Anthony made to turn toward the front of the loft to put them on and Hermione turned quickly to walk outside. She could hear their voices as they spoke briefly, but couldn't make out what they were saying. She wandered forward seeing the Greenhouses for the first time.

There were four massive buildings she had completely missed the first time she had been back here. They were colored to blend in with the landscape, but in the dying light of the day, she could see their outline clearly. She heard footsteps exiting the stable and turned with a smile on her face. It faltered and she froze when she saw that both men were shirtless.

Draco's pale body all but glowed in the light of dusk. His chest appeared hairless but was perfectly sculpted. He flexed an impressive bicep while looking at Anthony, making the shorter man laugh at whatever he was saying. Anthony's hairy abdominal muscles flexed as he laughed and Hermione was momentarily stunned as she realized how utterly gorgeous the two men were walking toward her. She had a mental image of the two of them wrestling and had an uncomfortable attraction to it. Anthony was thin and had narrower shoulders than Draco's broad ones. Anthony was hairy where Draco was not. Dark and light. Without his hat, Anthony had shorter hair than Draco's. Hermione tried shaking herself out of her stupor as they came closer.

Anthony wrapped her in a bear hug. Even though he smelled sweaty and dirty from being trapped in the hot stable for the time that Rowle had taken his place, Hermione could definitely still feel a minor attraction to the man. He kissed her on the forehead and apologized for his state of undress.

"Well, I'm not sorry for it," Came out of her mouth before she had time to stop herself speaking.

"Barkin' up the wrong tree, Miss." Anthony said with a laugh and an affectionate look at Draco.

"A girl can dream, Anthony. A girl can dream," She said playfully. She was so happy to see him uninjured she felt a little goofy.

"Come on you two, I thought _I_ was the object of your affections, and I rather enjoyed it," Draco said with a pout. They laughed and decided Anthony needed a shower and clothes so they went back inside the Mission.

A/N: Woo, that was some intense writing. I hope it was intense from the reader's viewpoint also. I was especially interested in the sense of freedom Hermione experienced. She seems like such a quiet person at heart, but she always got thrust into the spotlight. I always wondered if she liked the spotlight. In this story, obviously she has hated it from the start, and found America to be the place to get out of it. Thoughts? Comments? _**Reviews**_?


	9. Chapter 9

While Anthony went to his private room for his shower and change of clothes, Hermione was told where to find Rose and Luis, and the Mediwitch was sought out by Draco.

She knocked on their door and Luis answered. He was sweaty and wearing only a pair of shorts. She hesitated after he greeted her with a smile. He looked down at himself and back at her face, "I was working out, dirty mind." He told her with a laugh.

Before she could respond, Primrose came to the door with her hair half straightened and wearing jeans and a tee-shirt displaying a comic book superhero logo. Hermione thought the name was Batman, but she couldn't remember for sure. "Hey, Hermione, what's up?" Rose said with a worried smile.

"Draco needs help with something. He wants both of you to come to Anthony's chambers as soon as is possible," She answered, relieved she had not interrupted anything private between the two of them.

Rose took the tie out of the half of her hair which was not straight and shook her head to allow her natural waves to cover the straightened part. She gave Luis a quick peck on the lips and stepped out of the doorway and into the hall with Hermione, saying, "Luis grab a shirt, I'll meet you there." She stepped out and closed the door. "Let's go."

They walked quickly and Hermione hated her legs. They were so damn sore and Primrose's longer legs made her need to walk even faster.

"Forgot to mention, cute dress. Did you guys get anything else before the town was attacked?"

"We got there in the middle of the attack," Hermione answered, panting. Rose looked down at her and slowed her pace. "Thanks. This is Draco's shirt I transfigured."

"No prob, little lady. I forgot that you're so short. What's wrong with Anthony?"

"I…er… better let Draco tell you."

Rose looked at her with her intense gaze again and Hermione felt a bit uncomfortable. She didn't know if Draco was going to tell them the truth about the Rowle situation or not. She was not in a position to be going about and telling everyone about his plots and manipulations.

They saw the Mediwitch and Draco- still without a shirt- reach the door to Anthony's room just as they turned the corner. Rose looked at Hermione with a worried frown and then at Draco. "Draconis, you had better tell me what is going on right this minute." Rose said sternly as they approached.

He looked at her mildly and answered, "Draconis is the Latin for my name, not my full name. I've told you that a thousand times. I'll tell everyone at once shall I? Where's Luis?"

Rose let out an irritated half-growl, half-huff, and said, "I don't give a shit if it's your name or not, it makes me feel better while I'm yelling at you. Luis had to grab a shirt, he'll be here in 3…2…1."

Luis rounded the corner as though on command, looking worried. "What's happened?"

"Get in the damn room and Draco can tell us," Rose answered, sounding irritated.

They piled into Anthony's room and they could hear a low hum from the bathroom. "He's still in the shower," Draco said. He pulled open a drawer and put a shirt over his head. It was a little tight on the shoulders and was just a plain white one with a vee-neck. It suited him in a strange way. He continued as he pulled it down his body, "So I'll tell you lot what he already knows. The man who attacked the school was using Polyjuice to remain here." The three to which this was news gasped. Draco nodded. "Obviously I could not tell you, or risk the man knowing we were onto him. Hermione figured out that we were overlooking that he might have known from the first if he had, by luck, chosen someone who was high enough ranking to be in on the knowledge. In this case, we know for certain he was imitating Anthony." The hum in the bathroom had stopped at some point. Draco paused, allowing them questions.

Rose asked, "How long did we know he was doing it?"

"Almost right after the attacks, I had suspicions. It made no sense for him to attack the school and then just leave without confirming his revenge was complete."

"Hermione knew?" Luis asked.

"Yes, I did."

"How long was he pretending to be Anthony?" The Mediwitch asked.

Anthony opened the door wearing jeans and buttoning his shirt, "Well, I know I was under the rubble of the Mission, outside after I fought him. When I woke up it was already mornin' so I went to the meetin' place, that was about I dunno, maybe 8 in the mornin'? Shortly after, the Auror's showed up and before I could go find you, you're already coming back into camp, so I joined you. Draco asked me to escort the two of you to him'n then I gave my report. I left to get someone else'n then I woke up again, trapped in the stables. So since then, I'd guess," He told them. His hair was wet and he was barefoot. The steam from the shower smelled of a spicy soap which Hermione liked.

Draco frowned and looked at Hermione. "Then how was he able to impersonate…"

"The Auror's may have gotten information wrong?" Hermione finished his thought.

"What information?" Rose asked.

They told her about the reports. "Oh, the Head Auror and his assistant are sleeping together," She told them with a wave of her hand. They all looked at her, surprised. "What? No one noticed this? Seriously? They were _so_ obvious."

Luis looked up at his wife, "Hell, I didn't even notice it. How did you figure it out? Using your Vulcan logic again?"

Rose grinned, "Must've been."

"Vulcan?" Hermione asked.

"Star Trek?" Rose put her hand up with her first and middle fingers together and her pinky and ring finger together, making a vee between them. Her thumb stuck out a bit from the side and she said, "Live Long and Prosper?"

Hermione got it, she was talking about Spock. She looked at Rose again and realized she may be a lot smarter than Hermione had realized. "How were they obvious?" She asked, eager to confirm her suspicions.

She crossed her arms over her chest and answered, "Well, I noticed it because of the way that girl looked at Avery. Like she worshiped him. Then I saw them Apparate into camp together, separate to leave the site and then she came back but he didn't. You should have seen her, her hair all stuck up all over the place and her robes on inside out. It was a total 'duh' moment. How could you have missed it?"

Hermione saw Draco smirk and he answered, "Sounds like dumb luck to me. But we can pretend that this deserves to be in your long list of amazing observations if you want."

"Hey, _you_ didn't see anything, so it belongs there. And if you don't cut the snark I'll never give you pumpkin bread again."

Draco and Anthony laughed, Draco answered, "I'm sorry, you're completely right. Brilliant observations as always, Rose."

She nodded haughtily and broke into giggles. Luis was chuckling next to her. Hermione was beginning to think they were all mad. Rose's bread couldn't possibly be _that_ good. She rolled her eyes and said, "So what I don't get is why he waited so long to strike."

"What do you mean?" Anthony asked, still chuckling.

"Well, he had us pretty much under his thumb for an entire day, but didn't try anything until the last."

"Didn't want to break cover until he had a clean shot?" Luis asked.

"Probably," Draco answered.

"Anthony, I would like to get back to my book, can I check you over and go, please?" The Mediwitch asked suddenly.

A few moments passed as she checked him over and prescribed him rest for the next 24 hours and a liquid diet for the evening. "Not your usual beer, either. I mean broth and maybe some noodles," She added.

"What, am I in college again?" He asked sarcastically.

The stern faced Mediwitch answered, "For tonight, you are. Luis, make sure he gets only that. He hasn't eaten in a day and a half, we don't want him getting ill on anything heavier," Luis nodded seriously. The Mediwitch left shortly after.

"So, cold chicken and slaw sound alright to you?" Luis asked with a grin.

"Anythin', just give me somethin'." Anthony said laughing.

"Any clue on what he wanted from the two of you?" Rose asked when Luis left to go to the kitchen.

"He called us criminals. I've no idea why he thinks that." Hermione answered, looking doubtfully at Draco.

"Well, his father was the first person I witnessed murdered, and I was ordered to torture him… before…" He answered uncomfortably and looking down at the floor with his arms crossed over his chest. Rose was looking at him disbelievingly and Anthony hung his head.

"Yes and he attacked Harry, Ron, and I. We left he and his partner stunned. Perhaps he blames us for his death? From his perspective it could seem to be our fault." Hermione said gently, touching his arm.

Draco sighed. He sat on Anthony's bed next to Anthony himself. Anthony wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Draco shook him off.

"Anthony, did you know you were second-in-command?" Rose asked suddenly.

He looked up at her, surprised, "I woulda thought that fell to Daniel?"

"Oh my god, I told that monster that he was second in command. Oh my god and he asked about the two of you because Anthony didn't see you."

"See you what?" Anthony asked. Draco smirked while looking at the floor and Hermione felt a blush rising to her cheeks. "See you what?" He asked again, looking back and forth at his friend and Hermione.

Draco told him quietly, "I felt the need to tell Hermione about some of my suspicions, and your impersonator tried sneaking up on us. He had to tell us the Aurors had begun to arrive. I didn't want anyone gossiping about what we could have been talking about and it was not general knowledge to the staff that Hermione was ward of the Headmaster. So we heard someone coming and I thought, what a perfect way to hide what we were talking about. So I kissed Granger so that would become the gossip and nothing else."

"It was fake?!" Rose said in a loud voice a Luis walked into the room holding a tray of food.

"What was?" He asked.

"Their kiss!" Rose told him, without turning.

"Well, half-fake," Draco said with a smirk.

"What the hell does that even mean? Hermione you're ok with him kissing you to start a gossip train about you? And Draco, shame! You didn't even ask for her permission? Did you even apologize? What the hell were you thinking?" Rose was shouting and speaking so fast, Hermione was certain it was all one word. Luis gave Anthony the tray and frowned at Draco.

"Rose," Hermione said in a small voice.

She turned and stared down at her furiously, "And you? You lied to me! You sat there and told me you all but loved him! You let me think you two were star-crossed lovers! How the hell could you have faked so fucking well?!"

"Rose, shut up!" Hermione shouted, finally feeling angry. Rose stood straight and looked at her with mild surprise. Before Rose could respond, Hermione said in a normal tone, "He didn't have to. I understood his reasoning. He's been nothing but a gentleman. You had no idea what we were hiding, and that was the point."

Draco stood and took Rose's hand in his. She was only a few inches shorter than him, and had her head lowered, refusing to look at him. He told her gently, "I understand you'll be angry because of your trust issues, Rose, but it was for everyone's protection we had this ruse going. I actually do like her, that's not fake," She looked up at him, searching his face for a moment.

Anthony interrupted, "Wait. Ya'll kissed? You kissed _MY_ Draco?" He pretended to faint across his bed, without knocking his tray over. Rose smiled.

"Sorry, you're right, I'm overreacting. You know how I get when it comes to not being told the truth." She turned to Hermione and took her hands in hers, "I'm sorry I yelled at you."

Hermione smiled and told her, "It's ok. I think I would have reacted the same."

Luis asked, "So… what did I miss?"

Everyone laughed and Rose pulled him to her and kissed him. "I'll tell you later my love."

Hermione glanced over at Anthony who had pulled the tray to his pretend fainted form and was eating chicken off the bone with his eyes closed. She told them, "You lot are completely bonkers."

Draco smiled at her, "I wouldn't have them any other way." He looked back at Anthony, "Quit you," He said, rolling his eyes.

Anthony popped his eyes open and remained lying down, "But I thought all this time… we were meant to be Draco," He said, pretending to be sobbing.

Draco kicked Anthony's foot with a laugh, "You've got one too many appendages for my tastes. Granger on the other hand," He looked at her seriously. "Has just the right number, and beautiful ones at that."

Rose sighed loudly and rested her head on her husband's. "Alright, this is getting too gushy for my tastes," She said.

"What? You two are always being gushy," Draco said with a laugh.

"We're married, we're allowed," Luis said.

"I think I'd like to go back to my room," Hermione said, running a hand through her hair.

Draco looked at her intently for a moment, "I'll walk you over. Rose and Luis, will you still be here?"

Rose looked down at her husband with a smile. "No, we were in the middle of doing stuff. Luis needs to finish his workout." She poked his abs, whispering, "Fatty."

Luis laughed, "Yeah? And you have half-straightened hair."

She slapped him on the arm softly, "I was interrupted, you jerk."

"I'd like some time to rest, as I was ordered to. Get out!" Anthony said laughing as he spoke.

"Well then, I'll walk you over and go to my bed. It's only been a few days since I last slept." Draco said.

They said their good-byes and walked the short distance to Hermione's room. She asked him, "Do you want to come in?"

He grinned, "I would catch hell from Rose if I did."

Hermione looked up at him. "I just want to talk. Please? I'm not sure I want to be alone yet."

He nodded and followed her into her room. She sat on the bed and he sat on the edge of her dresser. "This has been a weird couple of days," She said.

"A very unexpected couple of days," He agreed.

"I'm not sure what to do, Draco."

He lifted an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"Well, I understand the appeal of moving here permanently. But I would have to find a place to live and then what would I do with my time? I don't need to work and I only know you and your friends. I would be lonely."

"So live in the Mission and work as someone's intern." He said simply, as though it should have been obvious.

"You're so sure I'm staying aren't you?" She asked, amazed at his confidence again.

"Are you?"

"I think I am, if I can figure out those things."

He grinned, his dimples came out again on his face. "Good. Then I was right," He said.

"Well, I certainly can't have you taking credit for taking down Rowle."

"No. I can see that would be more difficult with you here."

"When did you decide you liked me?"

He sighed, "You've become a beautiful woman, Hermione. I've no idea how you're still single. I don't know exactly. In school, I was jealous of you, in competition. Seeing you again made me realize I've always wanted your attention." He ran a hand through his hair. "Maybe Rose is right, maybe we are star- crossed lovers. What do you think?"

She looked down shyly. "It's hard to explain."

"Well, it's my good fortune anyway."

She glanced up at him, trying to figure out how to respond to his statement. "I hope I'm not making a rash decision."

"You're not. We don't have to date if you're unsure." He looked doubtful.

"I mean staying here. Dating you would just be a nice incentive," She gave him a grin.

He smirked. "You have no idea," He said cockily.

"How does the Headmaster get chosen?" She asked, curiously. She wasn't sure where their conversation was leading.

"Voted. That's why we have to shut the school down for the rest of the week. We have to get the school board together and have them vote. Why?"

"Just curious. And what if the person voted in is not you? Do you not get to be Deputy Headmaster anymore?"

"That would be up to the person taking over," He answered with a frown. He looked like he hadn't even thought about it.

"What if they vote you in?"

"Well then I would become Headmaster. I think the youngest one ever."

"Do you think you have a chance?"

"No, not in a million years." She saw he was upset by the thought. "They wouldn't want someone like me in that type of position."

"What do you mean, someone like you?"

He frowned, and looked even more upset, "A former Death Eater? Pity case from the previous administration? Please, they want someone who has proven leadership abilities."

"I think you showed your leadership quite well," She said quietly, feeling shy as she spoke.

He looked at her affectionately, "Thanks. But it's not up to Dr. Granger."

"Ugh, don't call me that."

He stood and walked closer to her, "What would you have me call you? Just Granger?" He knelt next to her on the floor.

"I'm rather tired of that," She said, her heart beating harder.

He touched her thigh through the dress and forced it open so he could kneel with his chest between her knees. "Hermione?" He said silkily, looking up at her intensely.

"That sounds nicer," She could hear her voice was getting huskier. She wanted him, badly.

He ran his hands up her thighs and rested them on her hips. He said, "My girlfriend?"

She licked her lips, unsure of if he was asking her to be with him or perhaps just gauging her reaction to the words. He followed the motion of her tongue with his eyes, "That has a nice ring to it, I think." She answered finally.

She felt his hands on her hips relax slightly. "I like that one too," He answered softly.

There was a knock at the door, "Hermione it's Rose, are you still awake?"

Draco sighed, looking crestfallen. Hermione answered, "Yes, come in."

Draco removed his hands and stood again quickly, taking a few steps back. Hermione crossed her legs.

Rose was saying as she opened the door, "I brought you some clothes- Oh, hi Draco." She glanced at him curiously. "Not interrupting anything, am I?"

Hermione laughed, "No, just talking. You brought me clothes?"

Rose handed her a bundle of cloth and told her, "Yeah, they're all going to be far too large for you, but you can transfigure them to fit I'm sure."

"Thanks Rose." Hermione said.

"Alright, I've seriously got to finish straightening my hair," She said as she turned to the door.

Draco and Hermione bid her a good night once more. Hermione put the clothes on the bed next to her. She looked up at Draco, unsure what to say. He sat on the bed next to her without a word. She gave him a small smile. He took her hand. She put her head on his shoulder. They stayed like that for a few minutes. Finally, Draco said, "I think we need to sleep."

"I agree." She decided she was not ready to fall into bed with him yet in a sexual way, but it might be nice to have his company. "Will you stay?" She asked softly.

He moved so he could look down at her. "You want to use the shower first, or shall I?"

She smiled, "You first. I'd like to take a look at what Rose brought me."

He stood and walked to a hidden door behind the iron wrought horse. She saw a bathroom behind it and smiled to herself. The clothes on the bed were nice, she had to say- a few pairs of Muggle jeans and a few shirts. There was a night dress, too. All of them huge for her, so she put the night dress over Draco's shirt and transfigured it to be about the same size as her body.

A few minutes passed with the gentle hum from the shower as she put the clothes in her drawers. She looked at herself in the mirror and noticed she was dirty and her hair was messier than she had thought. She wondered where she could go to get potion ingredients to make her hair treatments.

The door opened and Draco stepped out in a pair of sleep pants he must have transfigured from some article of clothing. The shower was still on behind him. "All yours beautiful," He said with a grin. She laughed lightly and watched him flop his long body onto the bed. He jumped back up and moved under the sheets before she even made it to the door.

While the hot water beat on her sore muscles she reflected on the days just past. She washed her body and thought about Draco. She wondered if he understood she didn't want to sleep with him in any other way than platonically. For now. She wanted him. But that needed to wait. She dropped the soap and as she bent to get it, she remembered how badly her legs felt. She hoped Draco hadn't heard her groan of pain. A naughty thought occurred to her. She could masturbate and tease him if she wanted. She grinned to herself evilly. Then she decided against it. He told her teasing him was nearly torture. She finished bathing and dressed.

When she opened the door, Draco was already snoring lightly. She smiled. When she was crawling under the sheets, he made a sleepy noise and wrapped a long arm around her body and pulled her closer to him. She sighed contentedly. It had been a very long time since she had shared her bed with someone. She listened to his snores for a moment and before she knew it she was already asleep.

Sleepy kisses on her shoulder and large hands tracing her curves woke her. She was pleasantly confused for a moment, trying to remember who was next to her through the sleepy fog of her mind. The kisses moved to the juncture of her neck and shoulder. _Draco_, her mind whispered. She wiggled her hips to let him know she was awake. He groaned softly against her skin.

"Careful with that," He said, "Unless you want payback for it."

She smiled, with her eyes still closed, "You started it."

She felt him smile against her neck. "I did. But only to wake you. I see it worked."

His hand was just below her breast and had stilled there. He stayed still for a few seconds. "Come on, get up," He whispered.

She groaned, half wishing he wasn't so proper all the damn time. This was a time when propriety was a hindrance to her selfish desires. She scooted away and stretched. She opened her eyes and glanced at him. He had a feral look on his face and was staring at her while her body remained arched. She relaxed her muscles and sat up. She went to the loo with a glance back at Draco's prone form. He had rolled onto his back and was watching her with his hands behind his head. He winked at her when she looked back.

When she finished using the toilet and brushing her teeth, she opened the door. Draco was in the process of stretching his sinewy arms above his head and arching backward next to the bed. He had somehow gotten his clothes and dressed while she had been in the restroom. He told her, "Breakfast is soon, I'll meet you there?"

She nodded and he gave her a quick peck on the cheek before leaving. She felt strange being without him. The last few days he had been at her side pretty much constantly, protecting her. She pulled out a random pairing of clothes from the ones Rose brought the night before. She dressed and went downstairs to get to the cafeteria. A huge brown owl nearly brained her with a gigantic wing as it flew down the narrow staircase. It had an official looking letter clutched in its beak.

When she entered the cafeteria the owl was regarding Draco as he read the letter with a deep frown on his face. The owl's head swiveled and she was surprised to see it was a horned owl.

She sat next to Draco and gave the owl a treat from the bacon tray in front of her. It hooted its thanks. When she turned back, Draco's face was blank and he was staring off into the distance. He was thinking hard about whatever he just read. "What is it, Draco?" She asked after a moment of him not moving.

He cleared his throat and looked at the owl for a moment. He conjured a parchment and scribbled a quick response in looping scrawl and signed it. He rolled it and gave it to the owl who took silent flight. "I've been voted as Headmaster. Apparently it was a unanimous on the first vote." He had no real inflection in his voice, it was flat, unemotional.

"Well, that's great! Right?"

He smiled thinly and finally looked right at her. "Yes, I suppose it is."

She grinned, ignoring his melancholy, "You deserve it, truly, Draco."

His smile became a bit more genuine, "Well, I don't know about that…"

She was about to ask for clarification when Al, the Potions teacher, called out a cheerful 'hello' and seated his large bottom on the bench across from them. He started telling Draco all sorts of information and gossip from the last few days, eyeing Hermione in between longwinded sentences. He was filling his plate to brimming from the serving trays between them while he spoke. Some other teachers began filing into the cafeteria groggily, and Al changed topics. He started speculating with Landon (Hermione found out from a whisper from Draco, Landon was the Defense Against Dark Arts teacher, although he looked young) who the next Headmaster would be.

Draco sat with a blank expression, listening to their speculations. The sandy-haired Landon thought it ought to be someone from another school "So we don't have to worry about insubordination from people who know the man too well already," He told Al without even looking at Draco. Hermione was, however and caught the smirk and dark look he gave Landon's insolence. The two men started talking about who would make a good leader and the qualities they would need, too absorbed in their conversation to pay attention to Draco surveying the room. Just as they were talking about the speaking voice of leaders, Draco stood.

He walked toward the front of the room, where the huddled masses of teachers could all see him and in a loud voice, told them, "Ladies and Gentlemen. Can I have your attention, please?

"Today is the beginning of a new time in this school. We have lost our Headmaster in a blatant attack on the school to get to a guest within its' walls. We have lost two students and had many injuries besides. I would like to take this time to thank each and every one of you for your role in rebuilding and protecting our students.

"The time has come, so says the Ministry, to select a new Headmaster. They have sent me a letter this morning informing me that I am now Headmaster of this school," He waited a moment, apparently knowing he couldn't be heard over the thunderous applause. When they had it out of their systems he continued with a smile on his face, "Are there objections? Please feel free to speak."

The teachers and staff looked around at one another curiously, no one seemed to have anything to say. "In that case, I'd like to announce the school will reopen on Monday, officially. The students will begin returning over the weekend. I might suggest that we all get some rest and catch up on research projects during our paid vacation this week. Oh, and if you are interested, the attacker of the school has been caught, his trial will be in a month."

Draco left the cafeteria with a bow, to echoing applause from his employees. Hermione could feel herself grinning, proud for him, even if he was a bit upset at the news of his promotion. She turned to grab a pancake to take with her and found the cool gaze of Al on her. She had never seen him without a smile and looked at him curiously. "So are you dating?" Al asked her bluntly.

She looked at him with a frown, "I don't know if that information is any of your business."

Landon elbowed Al, and said to Hermione, "Don't worry about him, he's always been too nosy for his own good."

She smiled thinly and wished them a pleasant day before standing and leaving the cafeteria to find her… friend. To find Draco, anyway. She was caught for a few moments by Rose who asked her a lot of unknowable questions about Draco's new position.

As she finally exited and decided he would be on the lowest level in his room or his office, she saw Anthony escorting a raven haired Wizard in front of her. _Wait. I know that messy…_She tentatively said, "Anthony?" Both Wizards turned and she saw she was right.

"Hermione?" The bespectacled man with his legendary lightning bolt scar said in his familiar and welcome voice. She all but tackled him in her fierce embrace, he laughed and held her easily.

"Harry!" She was laughing and crying a bit while she kissed him on the cheek.

"Potter," A suspicious voice said from behind her. She let Harry go and turned to the voice. Draco was coming back up the stairs, wearing a different shirt and pants, and was eyeing his former enemy with unguarded disdain.

A/N: Ok, I know, we went over a lot in this chapter. This story is taking on a life of its own. I have to tell it as it happens in my head or I'm afraid I might anger my muse. You didn't _really_ think Hermione could just leave England and not get some serious questions from her former best friend, did you?

Guys, thanks so much for the reviews! I got 10 between the last 2 chapters! I think the muse may be waking up a little. Somebody needs to give that bitch some coffee so I can finish this story! Lemme know what you think!


	10. Chapter 10

The trek down to Draco's office had been uncharacteristically silent. Hermione was nervous. Why in the world had Harry come to Texas? There was no reason other than he was coming to take her back to England. But how did he find out where she was?

Draco led them into his office and held out the chair for Hermione. When she and Harry were seated next to one another and Draco across the desk from them, Draco asked, "So, what's this about then, Potter?"

Harry was wearing a deep frown under his messy mop of hair. "This whole business has been concluded and I have gotten permission to take Hermione home."

Draco's voice was emotionless, but he was frowning as he answered, "You do understand that she must be a witness at the trial of this man, in a month?"

Harry stiffened and Hermione could see he had his hand balled in a tight fist on his leg. "It doesn't matter, she's to come with me."

"You also understand that she has been under an extreme amount of danger for the past few days?"

"It doesn't matter." Harry leaned forward and said more forcefully, "She's to come with me, Malfoy." His voice was full of the old hatred Hermione remembered suddenly.

"And finally, she remains ward of the Headmaster, she remains under my protection, Potter." Draco's voice betrayed his anger when he hissed Harry's last name.

Harry stood, "It doesn't matter," He grabbed Hermione's arm and yanked her to her feet. His fingers were digging painfully into her arm. "She's to come with me." He started to turn and tried to drag Hermione with him.

She yanked her arm back, not caring about how hard he pinched her arm. She succeeded in wrenching her arm free from his iron grip and punched him in the arm. He looked at her, astonished at her actions. "Harry. I am so sick of everyone talking like I'm not in the room."

"No one was talking like you're not here."

"You never even bothered to ask how I am! Nor if Malfoy has been taking care of me! Nor if I even _want_ to leave!"

His eyebrows shot up even further, "Alright, why would you want to stay?"

"Why would I want to leave?" She challenged him. She was incredibly angry at him for treating her like a child. He had always done that, though, expected her to go along with whatever his plans were. Well, no more. "There is _nothing_ for me to go back to."

"Nothing? What is there for you to stay for?" He looked a little hurt, but she was trying not to be bothered by it. He was her friend, or so he said. When was the last time he had listened to her?

"A chance of happiness, Harry."

"You can't stay here, Hermione."

Aghast, she asked him, "Why not?"

His eyes flicked to Malfoy, "It's not safe!"

_Oh, I see. _"Why would you say that?!" She forced incredulousness.

His tone became one she imagined he used on his children and fanned the flames of her anger, "Malfoy is here, Hermione. How can you be safe?"

Sarcastically, she answered, "Yes Harry, I know Malfoy is here. He's right there." She pointed at him, "He's been protecting me for the last three days. He's been at my side the whole time. And where were you?" She jabbed her finger into his chest angrily.

"Trying to get here! You think we can all get transported by imitation elf magic? And anyway, Malfoy, protecting you? Are you sure?"

Draco drawled behind her, "Well, that is slightly rude," In his most sarcastic voice.

She nearly laughed. Instead she forced herself to say, "Yes, Malfoy is here, that's _why_ I'm safe."

Harry crossed his arms over his chest and glared down at her, "You can't be safe with _Malfoy_."

"Safer than I ever was with you." She quipped, looking away from him. "Surely you can see that."

He huffed and when she looked back at him, he was angrier than she had ever seen him. "No. I cannot see that."

"Well, maybe it's because you can't see the world the same way as I do."

His eyes widened, "What the hell does that mean?"

"Not everything is black and white, Harry."

"You said the same thing about that Sir guy."

She felt herself blush, she hadn't had a chance to ask Draco about any of this stuff. Well, if it's going to come out, at least it'll be more fun this way. "Yes, Harry I did. And you didn't understand then. I can hardly expect you to understand it now."

"Hermione- he beat you!"

"How many times must we go over this? It's not beating if it is consensual!"

"Ginny told me about the bruises! She told me he used a rod! It's not like you asked for that!"

She sighed wearily, this was becoming a way for him to try and embarrass her. "I asked him to. My sexual preferences are not any of your business, Harry."

"They are when you're black and blue!"

She laughed sarcastically, "Yeah? You try and embarrass me. While we're at it, what about the girl?"

"What girl?" He looked at her suspiciously.

"Arys! The one you cheated on Ginny with!" She was infuriated at him, she had never been so angry at anyone her whole life.

"How did you-"

She cut him off, "It doesn't matter. _It's in the past_ Harry." She saw he was finally starting to listen. "Same as all this resentment for Draco. All the things you think you know about him are ten years old."

He stiffened, "Draco now, is it?"

She finally lost her patience, "You're fucking right it is! Stop trying to control me! You are no brother or guardian of mine who can order me about!"

His face turned red and his eyes were flashing in anger. "Fine, stay here with this scum. Let him beat you. Don't expect me to ever come back for you." His voice was shaking in rage but his tone was sincere.

"Potter." Draco said flatly.

He turned quickly and half yelled, "What Malfoy?"

"I would never beat her."

Harry stared at him. Hermione stared at him. Harry finally said, "What would you do?"

"Cherish her. As you should have. As a friend." Draco stood and folded his arms across his chest. "You both are being insane. Take a deep breath and allow yourselves a moment to reflect on what has been said." He waited.

Hermione pulled in a deep breath and held it for a moment. It came out in a remorseful sigh. How could she have said those things to Harry? She looked over at her friend and saw an expression on his face she had not seen in a long time. Harry grabbed her and pulled her into a rough embrace. He whispered an apology and she returned it.

Draco cleared his throat and Harry let her go. "You swear she is safe here, Malfoy?" Harry asked.

"She is," Hermione answered with a frown.

Harry smiled down at her. "Sorry. You're right. If you want to stay, it's not for me to tell you no," He sighed. "Tell me what happened."

Hermione sighed and gestured for him to sit again. He did and she followed his example. She told him about the last few days, leaving out the bookcase kiss and how she had slept the night before. His face went from amazement to dread to terror to happiness and pride during her story. When she told him about Draco being voted Headmaster, Harry looked at Draco with something resembling respect in his green eyes. Draco looked back blandly.

It was almost noon by the time she finished her tale. Harry sat back in his chair at the end and crossed his arms over his chest, frowning in thought. "So. Why you two?"

"I would guess it's a simple matter of where we were. He must have been living in Edinburgh," Draco answered.

Harry sighed. "I remember that you had to torture the boy's father. Voldemort," At the mention of the name, Draco winced. "Showed it to me through the link he had created."

Draco scratched his fingers through his hair in agitation. "Yes, Potter. And then he had my father kill him. Doubtless this helps our investigation." His sarcasm seemed a way to cover his guilt, to Hermione.

"How old was he?" Harry asked, ignoring Draco's sarcasm.

"I would guess maybe 15? Possibly as old at 17, but his father was so tall… I can't imagine he's had enough growth spurts to be much older than that." Hermione answered, puzzled.

"So they'll try him as a minor," Harry said. "In a month you said?" He asked of Draco.

Draco nodded in response. "Now, if that's all, we should lunch. I have other matters to attend to."

Harry stood as though his seat was on fire. "I apologize to have taken up so much of your time." He offered his hand uncertainly across the desk. "Congratulations on your appointment."

Draco took the hand and shook it while looking like he would bolt if Harry even reached for his wand. "Thank you," He answered uncertainly. "And congratulations, belatedly for both your marriage and for the new pregnancy." He added, his polite mask on again. That icy politeness which showed none of his true emotions.

Harry grinned and told him thanks. Draco led them to the stairs. As they were climbing, Harry asked her, "How many times did you go up and down these stairs?"

"Seems like a million, Harry." She answered with a laugh.

In the cafeteria, Harry did the same as she had for her first meal in the Mission, got several types of barbeque to test. Hermione was remembering how much Harry and Ron ate while they were at school with a smile on her face. She hadn't thought of their school years in a long time. Draco sat with them and they went over some other details of the last few days.

Harry asked her again if she was sure she wanted to stay, rather than come home with him. She told him again that she was going to stay. She had told him of her revelations about freedom when she had told him about Rowle staring at her from the floor, but he seemed to not comprehend completely. Draco was called over to another table and he excused himself for a moment. Harry gripped Hermione's forearm painfully and whispered to her, "Has he cast some spell on you? How the hell did he get that appointment?"

She frowned and shook her wrist free from his grip. "Harry, this is the first time you have seen him in about ten years, right?" He nodded and she grabbed her iced tea. Sipping, she remembered the way Draco had convinced her to believe he was a different man. "Why would you think he is the same person? Are you the same person you were back then? I know for a fact you are not."

He looked offended. "I think I'm the same person."

"If you are, Harry, then that's a problem." She answered, completely astonished that he would be comfortable with being the same person he was in school.

He looked away from her, thinking for a moment. She gave him the time to think as she ate some of her salad. After a moment, he asked her, "How did he become Headmaster?"

Draco sat in front of him as he finished his question and answered, "The school board voted me in. Apparently, I am overqualified for it and they unanimously elected me the youngest Headmaster this school has ever seen."

"But what about your past?" Harry asked him bluntly.

Draco smirked, "That was my first question as well. They cleared me of all charges thanks to _your_ testimony, Potter. Don't you remember giving it?"

Harry snorted, "You got your position because I told them to clear you? You're kidding."

Draco shook his head, still smirking. "You wouldn't believe what a favorable word from his saviorship will do for a former Death Eater. And anyway, I do have two degrees in education administration and another in Psychology. Did you think I just coasted into being the second-in-command of a school?"

Hermione was shocked at this information. She hadn't known how or why Draco was not in Azkaban until now. Had Harry really spoken for him? "Harry, if you believed in him then, what's the problem now?"

Harry stared at Draco searching for something in his face. "Why did you come here, then?" He asked his former enemy.

"To get away from the death threats." Draco answered simply, taking a bite of potato salad as he finished.

"You?" Harry asked, taken aback.

Draco nodded, still chewing. After he had swallowed, he said, "You think your word convinced everyone I was innocent? Hell, even I know I wasn't innocent. That doesn't mean I did things I did out of free will, though. I was tortured daily," He seemed very uncomfortable to talk about it. Hermione wanted to take his hand, but he was examining his fingers to cover his unease. "They tortured my mother and father in front of me," His voice was getting quieter as he remembered.

He cleared his throat and looked at Harry again, his silvery eyes shining in defiance, "But that wasn't enough. Everyone else had to torture me too. When I was drunk, I didn't give a shit about any of it. So I stayed drunk, Potter. When I had business in Edinburgh one day, I was transported here. They took me in, reeling from sunstroke and drunk off firewhiskey. They helped me get back together. Nothing like that was offered to me by the _light_ side of the war. Oh no, they would have _loved_ me to fall drunk in the gutter and get run over by a car. It would have been all over the papers, maybe it would have knocked even your saintly self off the front cover for a day. Wouldn't that have been interesting? A death of a Death Eater outshining even the great Harry Potter?"

Hermione read the emotions written all over her friend's face. Harry was battling with fury, pity, sadness, and guilt all at once. "Malfoy, I never… I never realized how it must have been." Harry said quietly.

"Well, how could you? You were taken off to the metaphorical palace while the rest of us were dying in the streets." Draco sounded very bitter.

Hermione put a silencing hand on Harry's shoulder. "Anyway, if we are quite finished insulting one another, perhaps we could actually have a pleasant conversation?" She asked.

Draco stared at her for a moment, his fork halfway to his mouth and then suddenly started laughing. Harry chuckled almost immediately.

Harry left an hour or so later. He had his own appointments to make. Draco invited her back down to his library for her to read while he finished his day. She acquiesced and found herself curled up in his bed deeply engrossed in a book she had been meaning to read about the uses of Phoenix tears on terminal illnesses when a voice announced it was time for dinner.

She jumped a few feet in the air, it seemed, when the strange voice had called out "Suppertime!" in the silence of his private rooms. She looked around startled, trying to find the owner of the voice. It called out again, louder, as she was looking in the direction of the grandfather clock and she happened to see the magically made mouth of the blind old man's face moving. "Ok, I heard you," She said quietly.

The clock hollered "WHAT?"

She realized it was a _grandfather_ clock. It was probably hard of hearing. She laughed to herself at the notion and hollered at it, "OK, I HEARD YOU, THANKS!"

Draco entered as she was laughing to herself for speaking to a _clock_. "Did the clock tell you, then?" He asked smiling at her.

She was still laughing and she had to wipe away tears from her eyes. Something about the clock had just tickled her so. He sat down on the bed quietly as she was giggling, so she told him, "It was a _grandfather_ clock," and another wave of giggles started.

He was chuckling. "Primrose thought it was too funny not to buy it for me for my birthday last year."

She started laughing again, snorting and was slightly embarrassed at it. She was trying to stop laughing. "Sorry," She told him between laughs, "I don't usually snort."

He reached out to her and pulled her across the bed. His fingers started tickling her ribs and she started screaming laughter. She tried to pull his fingers away from her and when that didn't work, she tried wiggling herself away from him. He climbed onto the bed to follow her then pinned her hips between his strong legs. He kept tickling her, laughing at her shrieks of laughter. "Please ahhahah, please stop!" She shouted while laughing. She started snorting again while trying to breathe in.

"Don't usually snort, huh?" He asked, laughing while he spoke.

He closed his eyes in laughter, so she grabbed his shoulders and catapulted herself over him. Their legs got tangled and she hit his head with hers, but neither of them seemed to notice. He lay underneath her, letting her small hands hold his wrists down. She was trying to figure out how she could hold him down and tickle him in revenge.

She felt him relax and he regarded her above him. She had moved her legs so they would hold her weight and only when she saw the look in his eye did she realize she was straddling him and he was hard under her. She was pressed up against his hard frame so her shorter arms could hold his above his head and she was still breathing hard and probably flushed from her laughter. She smirked and brought his hands under her knees to hold them. He didn't resist.

She dragged her hands up his sides, feeling for that telltale shudder so she would know where he was ticklish. She lifted herself up slightly in order to watched her hands. When she did, she felt his hardness throbbing against her and glanced at his face. He was regarding her seriously, all mirth gone from his features. When she met his eyes, he told her quietly, "I'm not ticklish, Granger."

She frowned, "I thought we agreed we were tired of that, Malfoy."

He smirked, his eyes regarded her seriously. "What did Potter mean about that 'Sir' comment earlier? Is it what I think it is?"

She frowned deeper, her fit of giggles totally forgotten. "I don't know what you think it means." She answered, evasively.

"Is little Granger into some darker sides of sex?" His tone was playful and his expression changed to match it. She could see seriousness behind his eyes though.

She arched an eyebrow at him, "Maybe I am, what of it?" She asked, challenging him.

"Does it excite you, Granger? To have someone dominate you? Does the little lioness need someone stronger than her to get off?"

She could hear the playfulness of his tone, but his eyes…. His eyes spoke of something else. Interest? "Maybe," She said as she lowered her body to be closer to him than she had been. She pressed her body against him with her hands on his shoulders and wiggled her hips slightly, using the time he was distracted to lean upward to whisper in his ear, "I don't submit so easily, Draco," In what she hoped was a seductive manner.

She heard him growl and suddenly his hands were stroking along the crease where her butt met her thighs. She had never even known that spot was sensitive, much less that it would turn her on. She felt her body react instantly, that _clench_ of desire caused her to whimper and she felt her hips lifting to give him better access to wherever he wanted to touch. "You will," He whispered hoarsely into her ear. She felt his lips on her neck, nipping at the sensitive skin below her ear. "I will make you moan for me soon enough," He finished against her neck.

She had been so preoccupied with his lips and words that she hardly noticed he had moved his fingers towards her center. She told him, "Challenge accepted," and bit her lip roughly when he stroked across her outer lips while biting her neck at the same time. _Fuck, _she thought. He was good. He thrust upwards as he repeated the same tactic and she nearly moaned. _Only just begun and I've nearly lost already,_ She thought to herself.

While she was distracted with her body's response to his ministrations, he quickly flipped them over and lowered his mouth to hers while stroking along her ribs. They weren't so ticklish now. She found herself wrapping her tongue around his and arching her body to be closer to his. He grunted slightly and stroked a thumb against the side of her breast. She made a small noise, but it was _not_ a moan. He stopped kissing her long enough to take a breath and lowered his lips to her neck and collarbone. His hand traced the outline of her breast and her back arched toward it.

He lifted his face and looked down at her with a smirk on his face. "Oh, you're so good," He purred. He thrust against her and she caught her voice in her throat before he could hear it. He cocked his head to the side and feigned confusion, "What's wrong, Hermione," He said in that same low voice. _Can a voice be sexy?_ She wondered. _His was._ She noticed his hand was lifting her shirt, she had to bite her lip to stop herself from begging him to go faster. He started on her neck again. "Don't you want me to keep going?" He asked her as he started lowering his lips to her chest.

"Yes," She said quickly, her voice sounded breathless and the word came out very fast.

He chuckled with his head between her breasts, kissing her through the cloth as he continued his descent. His hand had already exposed her stomach. He paused with his breath ghosting across her overly sensitive skin to ask her, "Are you sure?"

She looked down at him. He was staring up at her under the fringe of his hair. _A serious question? NOW?_ She thought to herself. Aloud she answered, "Yes, Draco."

He smirked, "Must not be doing a good job, since you're not moaning yet." He lowered his lips to her belly and she nearly moaned at the contact. He licked a little spot and blew on it, she felt her back arch. Her hands were somehow in his hair. He lifted her shirt while she had her back lifted off the bed and she felt his hands going under it to unhook her bra. His fingers went underneath it at her sides and lifted it so her breasts were freed. He moved his mouth upwards and nipped above her ribs.

She bit her lip again, in agony of trying to remain silent. His tongue slipped below her underwire and touched the bottom of her aching breast. "Please, Draco," She heard herself whimper.

He quickly sat up and lifted her leg before she had time to react. He smacked her bottom while telling her, "Call me sir," In a harsh voice. She forgot his challenge as the order and the low pain caused her to moan.

"Yes sir," She said, moaning as he resumed his former position.

"What a good girl you are," He purred, lifting her shirt over her breasts. He paused for a second, apparently enjoying the sight of her exposed chest. He continued with his voice rougher, "Look at these pretty tits," His tongue found a straining nipple and she heard herself moaning distantly.

His other hand kneaded her opposite breast and she moaned her pleasure. She was pressing her throbbing center against his hard dick he was thrusting against her. She could feel her own wetness all over her panties and he was pressing just so deliciously against her clit. She realized that he was miming what he would do later with his hips. All she wanted in the whole world at that moment was for her clothes to vanish and let him take her where she desperately needed to go.

His other hand grabbed her ass and shoved her roughly against him while he switched nipples. He used his teeth this time and she felt like she might soon explode from the tension in her.

The clock suddenly shouted again, causing them both to jump, "Suppertime's almost done! You gonna eat?" Draco rested his forehead on her bare chest and sighed heavily.

"Yeah! OK!" Hermione shouted, giggling a little. Draco raised his head and looked at her intensely. She felt the smile fading from her face. "What's wrong?" She asked after a moment.

He smirked, "You lost. Come on, Granger. Let's go eat."

He stood and she had a brief flash of what she was in store for as he turned. _Oh this will be __**fun, **_She thought, catching a glimpse of his size. He wasn't huge, but he was definitely above average she could tell. The outline of _him_ was straining against the fabric showing off his thickness. Hermione licked her lips while she re-hooked her bra and straightened her shirt.

He had stepped to the other side of the room and might be trying to allow himself time to go down. She felt bad, knowing that he was probably going to be in pain later on from the inconvenience of their lack of privacy. She sat on the edge of the bed, trying to decide if she stunk of her own juices and trying to tame her curls with her fingers.

He turned back to her and she could still see lust in his eyes. "Will you be alright?" She asked him.

He smirked again, "I'm not used to getting interrupted, but I'm sure I'll be fine. Ready?" He offered his hand to help her up. Her legs were shaky, she realized as she stood next to the sexiest man she had ever met. He smiled at her and they went upstairs to the cafeteria.

A/N: So many thanks to everyone who reviewed me! I've had some new ideas about where to go after chapter 14 (which is as far as I have written thus far) but there's a hurdle to get over for chapter 15 itself. The muse has gotten some coffee from you kind folks and some notes have been produced!

Also, Smut warning in the next chapter! After the little interlude in this one and the information Harry slipped to try and embarrass Hermione, I hope everyone realizes that it will be a Dom/sub scenario. No real violence, just some light bondage and some super hot sexy times. I'll make it very clear when it begins and when it ends for those who are not interested in that stuff.

Don't forget to review! I appreciate every single one!


	11. Chapter 11

When they entered the cafeteria, everything was already put away and the lights were dimmed. No one was around and Draco was smirking when she looked at him. She asked, "What?"

"I suppose this means I'll have to take you out for dinner, like a respectable gentleman," He said wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

She smiled up at him, very much liking how relaxed he seemed and asked, "Should I change?"

"No, there's a bar the teachers frequent accessible via Portkey. I probably should though," He said, looking down at himself. He chuckled, "Screw it, I'll go like this. They have some of the best food imaginable from a bar. I haven't been there in a while."

They had to go to the teacher's lounge on the floor below to get to the Portkey, which was in the shape of a billiards tournament trophy. When they arrived the bar was loud and smoky from many lit cigarettes. It was pleasantly darkened and filled with people laughing and talking. A waitress greeted Draco by name and then took them down a hallway to a private room containing a table. She informed them of the spell which would transform it into a pool table and took their drink orders before retreating out of the room.

"A magical bar? Where are we?" Hermione asked curiously as she settled into her seat. She was trying to ignore the jealousy sparked by the blonde and very chesty waitress knowing Draco on a first name basis.

"This is the magical side of San Antonio. The Mission is a little further northwest of here, about 60 miles," Draco responded. "The fireplace has a code to take us back to my private rooms." He showed her his inner wrist where a tattoo was shimmering on his flesh. "See, it comes with being Headmaster. Now I have all sorts of different things linking me to the school."

Hermione stroked the colored flesh of his wrist softly. When she looked up, his face was tense, as it had been when they had been snogging earlier. She asked him, "What about when the teachers come?"

He blinked and answered, "They just go back to the lounge where we came from."

The waitress came back with their pints and a giggle. When she noticed Hermione's glare, she settled into a more business-like persona, but still paid more attention to Draco than Hermione. Draco told the woman their food orders, referring to Hermione as, "My girlfriend," With a slight emphasis for the blonde girl. She looked a little put out, but treated Hermione much kinder afterward.

Hermione decided to try something Mexican, so she ordered carnitas, which the Draco had explained was a pork taco. Draco got something called carne guisada which he explained was a stewed beef type of thing.

The food came quickly and they discussed her recently gained knowledge of phoenix tears from the book she had been reading over the afternoon. She took a bite of his food and enjoyed it much more than her own, so they switched halfway through the meal.

The rest of the night continued mostly uninterrupted. The waitress brought them refills on their beers and they played a couple of rounds of pool, Hermione teasing him about losing to a girl several times. When she got up the courage to ask Draco about the girl's obvious interest in him, he shrugged it off and told her, "It's normal. She just wants a good tip, I guess."

Hermione asked him with a raised eyebrow, "So why did you need to inform her that I was your girlfriend?"

He smirked at her and answered, "Because she was flirting a bit much."

At midnight, they decided to go back to the Mission.

When the roar of the fireplace stopped, Draco pulled her roughly toward him. She felt herself instantly warm up at his proximity. He roughly kissed her, biting her lip and pulling her tightly against him. "Are you sure we ought to do this, Draco?" She whispered as he pulled back from her lips.

He chuckled and lowered his mouth to her neck. He whispered against her skin seductively, "You think we shouldn't?" He nipped at the sensitive skin under her ear. "Don't deny that you've been imagining the things I could do to you. The things I _will_ do to you," He pressed himself against her and pushed her into the nearest hard surface. It happened to be the wall in his bedroom where they had arrived, and she could feel him hardening against her, "Are nothing compared to your imaginings."

Hermione's eyes were closed, her was body responding to his words with pleasant gooseflesh. He was barely touching her, but she thought if he did, she might suddenly erupt in orgasm. She tried to raise her arms to wrap her fingers in his hair, but he held them firmly near her hips. He grazed his teeth against her collarbone and she whimpered in need.

"I could torment you until you had forgotten where you are." He growled, continuing in her silence. "I could worship your body," He raised her hands above her head, pinning them to the wall with one of his. "And you could never forget me." He stroked down her arm and brushed against the side of her breast. She arched and moaned at the contact, opening her eyes to look at him with need.

He slipped his fingers under the cloth of her shirt to touch her bare skin. She couldn't keep her eyes off him. He looked so handsome in the firelight and she had a brief thought that if she stopped looking at him, he would disappear into the darkness.

He watched her arch to his hand, unabashedly watching her chest rise and fall in her spurts of ragged breathing. He splayed his hand across the taut skin of her stomach and continued talking to her, "This is where I would start. This would be the first place I would touch after I'd tied you to the bed."

She moaned, her eyes slipping shut at last. He continued whispering to her, "I would slowly remove your clothing as I went, and you would feel like you hated me before I was finished. I would coax the most satisfying orgasm of your life with just my tongue." He brushed the underside of her bra, and she arched to his hand again. "And then you would be allowed to pleasure me."

"Please," She whimpered suddenly. Her heart was racing, she was so wet, and her body craving him so much it was nearly painful for him to deny her.

He kissed her again, his hands lifting her shirt to expose more of her stomach to the warm air. "You know what I miss?" He said suddenly, while wrapping his long fingers around her ribs.

She let out a breathless, "What?"

"I miss seeing you in a skirt all of the time," He pulled out his wand from his pocket and transfigured her jeans into a skirt. She could feel the pleats similar to her school uniform against her smooth thighs. He backed away slightly and looked down, "Oh, that's much better," He said gruffly. He was about to tuck his wand back away and then seemed to rethink it. He glanced up at her face and gave her a devious smile. "I wonder…" He said and then flicked his wrist towards her hands above her head. She felt ropes binding her to the wall.

She instinctively wriggled against the bindings and found herself unable to move. She looked at Draco who was eyeing her critically. He muttered a spell and then touched the wand to the front of the shirt, parting it easily. He licked his lips and then smirked when he noticed her looking at him. "Traffic light system?" He asked.

She understood immediately, he was going to do a scene with her. The colors of the lights would be representative of how far he could go. Green being, totally ok, yellow, was nearing her limit and red, was an immediate stop. She said, "Yes," And wondered where all this huskiness had come from in her voice. He leaned forward and licked the top of her exposed breast.

"Nothing too harsh this time, I just want you to feel safe," He told her as he severed the straps of her bra and it slithered to the floor.

She nearly laughed. Safe, with Malfoy slowly undressing her and his hard dick outlined against his pants? Safe, with her body reacting to his every movement? Safe when she was nearly begging and he had barely started? Safe was a word which did not fit the situation at all. She could trust he wouldn't hurt her…. Too much, she thought with an inward smirk.

While she was thinking, he had put his wand away. She came back to the situation at hand when he cupped one of her tender breasts and teased the aching nipple with his tongue. He switched to the other while rubbing his callused thumb over her already wetted nipple. She felt on fire already, his every touch was adding to the fire he had started earlier that evening.

She wanted to beg for him to continue, for him to go faster, but she knew better. The teasing was worth every second and would not be hurried. She squeezed her legs together and remembered again she was now wearing a skirt. She could feel the cool air of the room on her knees and the dampness of her panties. The cooled wetness seemed to have dampened her whole crotch area in the few minutes he had been touching her and she wondered how long she would be able to wait before she started begging.

He lowered himself to kneel on the floor in front of her after her nipples were sufficiently perky, and spread her legs with his hands. He lifted her skirt and started kissing her thighs as he worked his way to her pulsing center. When he finally came in contact with it, she heard herself moan and she could feel her insides tensing up in excitement. He nuzzled it through her damp panties, making soft sounds of contentment in his throat.

He lowered her panties off her legs and spread her lips with his fingers, testing her responsiveness. She bucked against his hand, and bit her lip to stop herself from begging him for his tongue. He very softly circled her throbbing nub with his finger, spreading her wetness even more than her own movements had. She distantly heard herself whimpering and saying his name, but her mind was focused completely on his fingers. She could feel his rough callus where his pen would sit torturing her clit with every stroke.

He was talking, but she was not listening. He stopped the movements of his fingers and smacked her inner thigh lightly. She opened her eyes and looked down at him. He told her, "You look at me. I want to see you looking over those pretty tits at me." He reached a hand up and stroked along the curve of her breasts, tweaking her nipples as his fingers crossed them. She saw him lick his lips before he made eye contact with her again. "Look at you, so desperate to cum, aren't you?" His voice was low and husky, it seemed to travel straight to her clit, which throbbed in anticipation.

"Please," She heard herself whimper in response. She was trying desperately to not wrap her legs around his neck to force his tongue deep inside her. Thoughts and lust-filled imaginings were racing around inside her head, none of them making sense. His deep chuckle brought her back to the situation at hand.

"I'm not sure that you deserve my tongue yet. You weren't listening," He leaned forward and stroked her slit with his fingers. "Do you want to cum?" His voice was soft for now.

She was arching towards him as he slowly stroked the outside of her lips. She wanted to thrust down, make him slip his fingers inside her, but she didn't. He had asked her a question. What was it? "Yes, sir," She answered, not sure what he had asked in the first place.

He slipped a finger into her and she heard herself cry out. She could not top herself from thrusting downward, trying to take more than he was giving. He kept his finger buried into her only to the second knuckle, thrusting it slowly and softly. "Good girl," He told her as he kissed along her inner thigh. "Fuck, you're tight," He whispered against her leg after a moment. His lips were coming slowly closer to her center.

She was finding herself closer to the edge than she really ought to be, but his power was overwhelming her. He bit her inner thigh lightly and she finally started begging. Her voice sounded close to tears as she said, "Please, sir. Please can I have your tongue? Please?"

She heard him growl and felt it against her leg. Suddenly, she felt that velvety muscle against her nub and cried out in her pleasure. He added another finger and stroked her clit with his amazing tongue to the same pace as his thrusting hand. It was still too slow and not yet hard enough to make her cum, but the combination made her gasp and bite her lip from the agony of denial. He backed away and looked up at her. "You taste phenomenal Granger. I want you to cum for me."

He winked at her and then she could feel his tongue against her again. He lifted her leg over his shoulder and thrust deeper with his fingers as he attacked her throbbing nub as though it was going to vanish if he stopped. She was grateful he had raised one of her legs, since the assault left them wobbly and she nearly fell when he sucked on her clit.

She was panting and moaning her pleasure until she felt the tension in her body suddenly snap. She gasped harshly and bit her lip. She felt her body milking his fingers and he did not stop immediately. His tongue continued at the same pace while his fingers slowed. She rode out her orgasm as he licked up the juices leaking all over his hand.

She heard herself sob, "Yellow," As she started to come down. His tongue and fingers were overpowering her. He placed a gentle kiss on her clit as he withdrew his fingers. She felt the bonds holding her wrists release and lowered her arms to steady herself against the wall. He stood and wrapped his arms around her body and pulled her forward to rest against him, instead. She placed her hands on his chest and tried to catch her breath.

She heard him murmuring through his chest where her head was resting, "I'll have to do that a lot more, Granger. You taste delectable." She smiled and closed her eyes briefly.

The weave on his shirt felt like silk and she found it impossible to not caress the material and his muscles underneath while he spoke. She could feel how tense he was and moved one hand down his body to grasp him length through his pants. He growled and squeezed her tighter as she stroked it softly.

She deftly unbuttoned his trousers and unzipped the fly to be able to touch him more freely. He popped out of his restraints and she felt the soft skin covering his hard, throbbing member with a gentle hand. Her body was in the way and she could not see it, but her hand couldn't wrap all the way around him and the thought of this thick cock in her still throbbing center excited her again. "Do you want me to suck it, sir?" She asked, leaning back slightly to look at him shyly. She felt his cock pulse in her hand at her question and knew she had asked in just the right way.

In the firelight, she could see him biting his lip as he considered her question. His eyes were hooded and he was looking at her hungrily. "Not now," He answered gruffly. He pulled himself away from her and stripped off the ruined shirt and the remnants of her bra from her shoulders. He looked at her for a moment, standing there in only her skirt and shoes in the firelight. She fought with her body to not fidget under his intense scrutiny. She fought it for as long as she could and when she thought she could take it no longer she kicked off her shoes.

She realized she could look at him too, if she wanted. So she took in his body with her eyes. His hair was mussed and his shirt was half un-tucked. She looked lower and realized he had left his pants undone and his thick member was hanging out of the front of them.

She gaped at it for a moment. It's not like he was massive, but he was thicker than most of the men she had ever slept with. He was long enough that she knew he would be hitting her cervix with every thrust and she couldn't wait. He moved his hand and she looked up at his face. He was smirking, the smug bastard. He waved his wand quickly and his shirt unbuttoned itself and flew off his shoulders. The pants fell down of their own accord and he kicked them and his shoes off at the same time.

Every muscle on his body was clearly outlined in the firelight, and Hermione suddenly felt very self-conscious. Here was the epitome of male perfection and she was just a mildly attractive bookworm thinking she deserved his attention. She lowered her eyes and felt a blush rising to her cheeks. He wanted her, she reminded herself. Not just for one night, for an undisclosed length of time.

Suddenly, he grabbed her and pushed her to the side of the bed and then roughly shoved her onto it. He bent his knees so they were under hers, forcing them open. "Merlin, you are gorgeous, Granger." He said as he moved the skirt so it wasn't in his way. He peeked up at her face with a smirk, which faltered at the look on her face. His hardness was pressed against her slit and he had angled it so he could not enter her. "Do you want to?" He asked suddenly, his normal confidence was suddenly gone, and he looked like she was going to reject _him_ as though anyone would.

She closed her eyes to give it the honest thought it deserved, his handsome face was just too distracting. Her body was screaming yes, but she needed to make sure that her mind would not regret their actions in the morning. Would she ever regret sleeping with Draco Malfoy? _Never,_ her mind whispered back to her. She opened her eyes and told him, "Yes. I'm sure."

She could feel his hardness pressing against her, throbbing and hot against her wet pussy. He leaned down and kissed her again. She snaked her tongue out to his scorching lips and he growled while grabbing her hips tightly. When he pulled back to latch onto her nipples again, he whispered, "Had me worried for a second there," So low she was not sure she was supposed to have heard him. He didn't seem to want an answer though.

He slid his hands up her body and began teasing the undersides of her breasts and she arched to the contact, her nipples almost throbbing in need. She could feel him thrusting against the outside of her body softly and marveled for a split second at his control. He sat up, looking at where they joined, and lifted her hips easily and she felt the head of his cock against her entrance. She felt a jolt of need race through her body as he slowly pressed against her. She was stretching, stretching and then she felt the slight pop of his head being all the way within her.

He pulled back and thrust back, slightly harder, with a grunt. He kept pushing in, slowly as though afraid to hurt her. She raised her hips, wanting him all the way inside, and he looked up at her face quickly. She was biting her lip and looking at him with desperation in her eyes, she was sure. He smirked, his confidence seeming to come back to him, and thrust himself deeper. She moaned and closed her eyes, thrusting back towards him.

She felt wondrously full as he pushed all the way inside her. She raised an arm to pull him towards her for a kiss, and he roughly shoved it down above her head. Her other arm was forced next to it, and he growled to her, "Keep your hands there or you will be spanked."

She felt herself grow more excited at his tone. "Yes, sir," She whispered, holding her hands together above her head.

He got that smug look on his face and told her, "You're such a good girl," As he started to thrust into her lazily.

She felt her body seizing up and she suddenly came with a cry. He didn't stop, but kept the same slow pace as she came back to reality. He undid the zip on the skirt and he told her, "Get on your knees, Granger." He pulled back and she did as he instructed. He pulled the skirt off her body as she turned over and threw it over his shoulder, she saw out of the corner of her eye.

He gently pushed her forward by the back of her neck, so that her ass was in the air and her shoulders were nearly even with her face. He spread her knees wider with his and she felt him back away slightly. She wanted to look back and see what he was doing, but she felt his hot breath against her thighs before she could move. Then she felt his tongue against her clit again, the position making it so she had no way to move against him. She moaned, feeling like the sexiest person on the planet for a moment. He pulled back and growled, "Play with your fucking tits, Granger."

She moved her hands so she could play with her aching nipples and shivered when he pressed the head of his dick against her. "You want this again?" He asked in a cocky voice. He was pressing against her throbbing mound and gently thrusting against her.

"Yes," She moaned out, desperate for it.

He smacked her ass cheek, harder than he had before. "What did I tell you?" His voice was rough, commanding, and she felt her back arch, trying to get him to slip inside.

Her body throbbed eagerly with need. "Yes, sir, please. I want it." She moaned, still playing with her breasts.

She heard him growl and then he was suddenly thrusting into her much harder than he had been. It was painful and wonderful and she thrust back against him every time he withdrew. His hands were holding her hips and pulling them upward and she could feel him hitting her G-spot every time he moved.

She lowered her hands from her nipples to try to balance herself from his confident thrusts. She trembled when he slapped her ass again, even harder, but still not really painful as exciting.

He grabbed her hair and pulled her up so her back was against his chest. His other hand held her hips where they were so he could continue thrusting into her. He pressed his lips against the side of her head and in a commanding growl, said, "Don't you dare stop playing with those sweet tits of yours, Granger."

Her voice was shaking as she raised her hands again to her hard nipples, "I won't sir."

He growled ferociously with that and thrust even harder into her, "I like it when you call me sir, Granger. It makes me want to cum. Maybe in that pretty little mouth of yours. How about it, Granger? Want to fill your mouth with cum? You were asking for it earlier."

His vulgar speech made her clench around him again, and she couldn't answer at first. He slapped her hip, still holding her roughly against him, and growled, "I asked you a question, Granger."

"Yes, sir, please," She didn't even remember exactly what he'd said. She was so lost in sensations she couldn't think straight. She felt her body convulse into another orgasm and squeezed her nipples harder than she ever had. The world evaporated away and the only thing which mattered to her was the next thrust, his next growl, the sea of colors erupting behind her eyelids. She distantly heard herself moan out, "Fuck, Draco, oh, fuck yes."

He pushed her back so she could rest her body on his bed. He started pulling her hips against him harder and lifting her up as he thrust. Suddenly he said, "Granger, I'm gonna cum. Get your mouth on this right now." He pulled out and she flipped her exhausted body over. He put his dick in her mouth roughly and she sucked him hard, thrusting her face against him. He groaned as she tasted the first spurt of his seed in the back of her throat. She decreased the suction in her mouth and tightened her lips. His hands were in her hair, gently stroking as she sucked the last few drops out. "Swallow it." He commanded.

She drew her lips back towards the head of his still quivering dick and swallowed. Then she swirled her tongue around his head and sucked him gently for a few more moments. He was breathing roughly above her and occasionally involuntarily thrusting into her mouth.

He pulled himself out of her mouth gently and kissed her forehead before snuggling next to her on the bed. She put her head on his shoulder and he wrapped a long arm around her body. After a few moments she felt the vibrations in his chest as he asked, "Do you want any water or anything else to drink?"

"Some water would be lovely," She answered, not realizing until right then how parched her throat was.

He conjured a glass and filled it with water from his wand. She sat up and drank half of the glass then offered it to him. He finished it, sitting next to her and looking at her over the rim of the glass. He lowered it and asked, "What happened in your head when I got undressed?"

She looked away, embarrassed. "I don't know-" He took her chin gently in his hand and she could smell her juices on his fingers.

"Tell the truth this time," He said, frowning.

"I just…" She took a deep breath and then let it all spill out, "I just saw how bloody beautiful your body is and I thought, well, what the hell does he want with me? I got insecure, I guess." She said with a shrug.

He smiled. "I had the same thought, you know. You're…" He ran a hand through his hair, trying to find the right words. "Fuck, Granger. You're like a goddess in the firelight. How is a guy supposed to compete with that?"

She laughed and hugged him, knocking over the glass and not noticing it. "That's the best lie I've ever heard," She said while laughing.

He started laughing too, "It's no lie, I swear."

She pulled back and looked into his face. He seemed to be telling the truth. "Alright, sure whatever, can we get some sleep now?" She was still half laughing as she spoke.

They lay together in the firelight on top of the covers. Draco was holding her and trying to convince her that everything, including her feet, were beautiful. She was laughing at him softly, knowing he was just trying to keep her happy in case of sub-drop. She was perfectly alright with it.

When she woke in the morning, she could hear him singing in the shower, in a melodic baritone:

_Did she want me to change?_

_Well I change for good_

_And I want you to know_

_But you always get your way_

_I wanted to say_

And he hummed the next part, which was apparently too high pitched for him to sing. She joined him in the shower and they had a quick go at standing sex, but she was sore from the night before, so they had to stop.

She was looking forward to getting to know the grown-up version of Draco Malfoy. He was the kind of guy she might even love if she gave herself enough free reign. She wouldn't for now, it was too early in their relationship. Suddenly, as she was washing her hair and pondering these things, she asked him, "Am I officially your girlfriend?"

He smirked with the water running over his chest and his wet hair plastered to his forehead. Then he answered, "Yes, Granger. You _said_ you liked the sound of that." And then he winked and stepped out of the shower to get dressed for the day.

**A/N:** Ok, wow. Jesus. That was hot. Uh… sorry about the delay, everyone! Real life caught up with me, you know? Too much stuff going on for me to have time to sit and edit this chapter. I know, I hate it too when a writer does that on here, but hey, life happens.


	12. Chapter 12

(Brief warning: There is a mention of rape in this chapter, but its past tense and not in detail)

The next few days went by in a blur for Hermione. Draco was in his office pretty much constantly from sunup to sundown and then would come into his quarters, where she had gotten into the habit of lying in and reading all day, to bring her to dinner with him. If not for the annoying grandfather clock, she was certain she would forget to eat lunch without him.

She had arrived on Sunday, and by Thursday she was dangerously close to falling in love with the Slytherin. She told him several times- guiltily lying to him- that she was too sore after the first time to have sex with him again for a few days. She was worried about her cycle starting soon, but far too embarrassed to tell him about it so early in their… relationship.

When she woke up at 4 A.M. on Saturday morning, she felt a familiar cramp and cursed Mother Nature for her ovaries. She went to the bathroom to shower and change for the day and then headed to the Hospital wing to see about a pain potion. The sign on the door read: "This is a Hospital, don't worry, ring the bell and I'll give you what you need. Jen, M.D." and it had a little smiley face below the signature. Hermione felt less guilty as she rang the bell. She was wondering if the Mediwitch went by her first name like Rose did on the weekends as she waited for the bell to be answered.

When the Mediwitch was finally roused from her slumber, she opened the door with rollers in her honey blonde hair and in a dressing gown. She looked tired but ushered Hermione in with a smile, regardless. "What is it you need, what was it? Miss Granger?"

"Yes, Hermione is fine, also. I need a pain potion. Is it ok if I call you Jen?"

The Mediwitch turned to look on a shelf with what seemed like thousands of vials and answered at the same time, "Yes, I don't want anyone to hesitate to come in; I insist all call me by my first name to help make it easier to talk to me. Oh, here it is." She gave Hermione the potion. "What do you need it for?"

Hermione could feel herself blushing slightly and reminded herself that the woman was a doctor, it was normal to talk to her about it. "My monthly paid me a visit this morning," She answered.

Jen grabbed back the vial, turned quickly and handed her a different one. "This one is better for cramps," She explained. "It takes a little while to kick in, but it should work for the whole cycle. Also it helps alleviate the bloating and mood swings, if you are susceptible to them." She wagged her finger at her, "But don't forget you are still on your cycle." She smiled and continued, "Oh what am I saying, I was going to give you the speech like you don't already know. Sorry, occupational habit. Here," The Mediwitch turned and handed her a bar of chocolate with a wink.

They shared a laugh and Hermione decided to go outside for a walk in the rising sun so the pain potion would have time to work. She paused in her room on the way upstairs and deposited the chocolate on her bed before resuming her climb to the surface.

In the Mission itself, she found Landon, the DADA professor mid-prayer and quietly left so as to not disturb him. The horizon was only just brightening when she stepped out into the cool and quite damp morning air. She took a deep breath and began to walk toward the area she had arrived at- suddenly deciding that it was too particular a mode of travel which had been used to transport her. The Aurors, she knew, were still doing their investigations, so she kept an eye out to not surprise one who might be in the area.

It took her about twenty minutes to find the opening in the trees where the path continued. It was just too dark to see well and to make matters worse, when she had set out from the Mission, she had taken the wrong path. The sky was beginning to turn pink when she found the break in the trees and began to climb the gentle incline of the path.

The woods were silent as she walked and the potion had thankfully kicked in. She found the peaceful surroundings incredibly comforting. The deep shadows in the trees nearly hid the opening she was looking for, but the slight tickle of the remaining magic of the area drew her attention to the clearing. She touched her wand in her back pocket of her jeans absently as she entered the little clearing. She stood on the outside of the bent branches and stamped down underbrush to stare into the clearing, trying to make sense of what type of magic had sent her here. Then she started thinking about Draco's sudden trip here, and a realization hit her.

If Rowle was working alone, it made no sense. Draco had been sent here nearly nine years ago, which would have made Rowle only 8 years old when he had sent Draco here. Hermione wondered if the Aurors had been continuing their investigation because of that. She remembered that Draco had been increasingly agitated over the last few days, and wondered how many times the Aurors had come to visit him since Rowle had been captured. They had talked to her a few times in his private rooms, but it had been just repeating her statement. They had not had any questions for her regarding any new information.

She had been so interested in getting to know Draco, that she had not asked him anything about the investigations at all. She understood that she was completely dense to not have realized it sooner. She sighed and walked around the perimeter of the circle outlining the rest of the still magically infused arrival point. Rowle was certainly a good dueler, even for his age. She had not thought it strange because of the way her own childhood had been. The entire student body had been highly skilled at dueling by the end of their fifth year in school, but that had been mostly due to Harry's influence over them.

Hermione had learned hundreds of hexes and jinxes by the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and she had not even competed. By the end of it, the confirmation that Voldemort was back spurred most of the other students to spend a bit more time practicing dueling. Of course all of them knew how to duel. But, now that Hermione was thinking about it, it would be incredibly unusual for Rowle to know that much about it.

She found herself walking back up to the campsite where she had woken six days prior, wanting to look down on the Mission from where Primrose had showed it to her the first time. She found the mostly hidden path that Rose had taken her down before after a moment. As she started down it, she jumped when a bird let out a harsh caw, breaking the silence. She put a shaking hand over her furiously beating heart and took a few deep breaths. She could see through the trees that the sky had lightened to a golden color and she wanted to see the sunrise, so she made her feet continue to climb.

Then, the trees were suddenly gone and she stood on the edge of the cliff with a light breeze moving her hair off her shoulders and the sun just peeking over the horizon. She smiled and sat down with her feet hanging over the edge of the cliff. There were another few calls of birdsong behind her and she saw a small flock taking off from the trees a little way away from her. She watched the sun rise for a while, allowing her mind to wander where it would.

She was so distracted she didn't hear the footsteps approaching from behind. It was only when she heard a twig snap that she turned with her wand already in her hand. "Who's there?" She challenged without thinking.

"Oh, Hermione. Hi. It's Rose, don't worry, put your wand down," Said the amused voice behind the bushes.

Hermione lowered her wand and smiled. "Well come on then, I'm just enjoying the sunrise."

Rose came around the corner in jeans and a cami, with her long hair swaying in a ponytail. She looked over Hermione's head at the Mission and then back at Hermione, "It's a while past sunrise. Draco's a little worried. Jen told him you went to see her before sunrise and then no one has seen you since. The guy certainly does have a thing for you." She sat while she was speaking.

Hermione felt herself smiling. "Yeah, he sure does, doesn't he?"

Rose looked at her intensely for a moment. Her icy eyes seemed to be able to read Hermione's thoughts, and Hermione started to feel a bit uncomfortable. "You seem a little weird today. You ok?" Rose asked.

Hermione rubbed her eye, tiredly. "Yes, I was woken by my monthly long before I would have liked." Suddenly she realized what Rose was trying to tell her, "Did Draco send you?"

Rose smirked, "He would have sent a search party if it wouldn't have been unusual to be so concerned. He tries so hard to never show what's bothering him," She looked away again, following the path of a solitary bird flying in the distance. She cleared her throat after a moment, "Anyway, it's nearly time for breakfast. You have unanswered questions, I see. Any I can answer?"

Surprised, Hermione started, "How do you…"

Rose laughed and said, "It's quite obvious. Why else would you have come out here? Something was bothering you. And aside from the times where you were lost, your trail led straight to the area you appeared at and then here, as if you were going over everything again. But you haven't answered my question, can I help at all?"

Hermione thought about it for a moment, surprised again at Primrose's intellect. "Why do you shy away from showing your intelligence?" Hermione found herself saying. The words had simply tumbled out of her mouth without her intending to ask the question. It had been bothering her though, so she let the question stand without apology.

Rose watched the bird circling an thermal updraft for a moment. "You know what kind of bird that is?" Rose said. Without waiting for a response, she answered her own question, "It's a turkey vulture. Commonly called a buzzard in these parts. They're ugly and eat carrion. They circle a dying animal and wait until it's dead with no remorse. Or eat the remains of an animal without compassion. They don't have the concept of course, compassion is a purely human response to the suffering of another creature."

She fixed Hermione with her icy gaze once more, "But not all humans have such a gift for compassion. Some of us can pretend to have it, but only as a learned response, not as one which is innate. I was blessed-" She spat the word out sarcastically and bitterly, "With growing up in a world where compassion and empathy were nonexistent. My mother punished me for being too smart. For being too much like my father. When I turned to my peers in school, seeking some form of acceptance from them, believing wrongly that they might be less insane than my mother was. I was ridiculed daily for being 'too smart'. Do you know what that's like? You're the smartest from your school, Draco said, did they do the same to you?"

Hermione nodded, her heart racing. Draco had mentioned that Rose had trust issues, but she had never expected something like this to be the cause. "It was the worst during the first two years. I thought it was just Muggles who were that mean, but even the Wizards wouldn't accept me. I know what you mean," Hermione said, trying to sound comforting. Obviously this was a huge part of her formative years that Rose was talking about, and given the haunted expression behind her eyes, it was worse than she was letting on.

Rose nodded. "It was the same for me. I should have been relieved, of course. To come to a school away from my mother, and not be ridiculed just for being different. It wasn't until college that I made real friends, not the kind who kept me around just to copy my homework when they forgot to do it." She sighed. "I was a hard person. No compassion. And then I met Luis," She smiled sadly. "And rejected his romantic interest outright just because he is shorter than me. It was the completion of a cycle, do you see? I was rejected for my own genetics for the majority of my life and only knew how to reject others based on theirs." She scoffed, "The definition of irony."

"But you learned how to accept others, obviously, or you wouldn't have married him." Hermione pointed out.

"You're right of course, but the lesson I had to learn was a hard one. He found me after…" Hermione heard her voice becoming strangled as though she were going to cry. Rose cleared her throat and Hermione could see her expression change to a more stoic one. "He found me after a man who I had dated had raped me. Luis found me bleeding and beaten, sobbing my eyes out. And he didn't need any reason to continue loving me. He healed the physical wounds, of course. That part was easy. He had compassion innately, whereas I had to learn it from him."

Hermione felt tears in her eyes as Primrose was speaking. She had such a hard childhood, and then to top it off she… Hermione made herself stop thinking of it. She was grateful for the potion Jen had given her or else she would have been crying already. Rose was silent for a moment, as though collecting her thoughts. "My point is, I am half-fearful of showing my intelligence, in case of ridicule. And the other half of me realizes that even though I've been through so much ridicule, I'm still arrogant about how smart I am. Isn't that crazy? I don't show off how smart I am in order to be more humble. Does that make sense?"

Hermione looked at the turkey vulture in the distance as it flew between one hot air pocket and another to begin twirling again. "Yes. I think I understand," She answered slowly.

Rose stood, "Come on, or your man will send a search party. Is he still worried about something having to do with the case? Can you even answer that?" She was smiling as Hermione stood.

"I actually don't know. We've been avoiding the topic of late. Getting to know each other, you know?"

"Oh? I bet he's such a good lay," Rose said with a dreamy expression.

Hermione laughed, "I'll put your mind at ease, yes. Yes he is."

Rose tented her fingers in front of her chest and tapped them together eagerly, "Oh, juicy, juicy gossip. Better not mention anything about it to Al or the whole school will soon know everything you never did."

"Is he really such a gossip?" Hermione asked over her shoulder as she led Rose down the path.

"Yes. And he hates Draco. I've overheard him saying he was thinking of leaving the school in protest of Draco's appointment to Landon, he's the DADA professor, have you met him?"

Hermione wrinkled her nose in disgust, the two of them had been quite rude to Draco on the day of his appointment. "Yes. They were sitting with Draco and me when he made the announcement of his new position."

Rose laughed, "I bet that burned their asses. Draco has never gotten along with either of them very well. Al tells him gossip and tries to get information out of him to pass along the grapevine. It's really annoying. He does it to everyone." She sighed as they passed through the forest.

"And Landon?"

"He's just… well, I don't really know how to put it. He's a jerk all around. He belittles people to their face and throws hexes at unsuspecting students in class for things like falling asleep and thing like that."

"He can do that?" Hermione was shocked.

"He's never been punished for it. I don't think there is anything in the rulebook forbidding it at any rate."

They talked about all the teachers for the rest of the time it took to get back to the Mission. Hermione was glad for the insights, since she had been barely introduced to anyone at the Mission.

When they entered the shady interior of the Mission, Lieutenant Ptyalin was standing at attention next to the doorway which led to the lower levels.

Rose groaned dramatically, "Don't tell me Draco called in the Aurors because Hermione went for a walk."

"Mrs. Hernandez, this is no time for dramatics. There has been another attack. Were either of you able to see the Mission from wherever you were?" His face was deadly serious.

Hermione pressed her fingers against her lips, "Is everyone alright?" She said in a whisper through her fingers.

At the same time, Rose said, "Yes we could see it, but we weren't really looking at it. We didn't see anything unusual, Benny. What happened?"

"Please confirm your identity and tell me your role in the school."

"Primrose Hernandez, Herbology Professor." Rose answered automatically.

"Hermione Granger, Ward of the Headmaster." Hermione answered absently.

He re-squared his shoulders and looked into the distance in between them as he gave his report, "At 0600, the suspect entered the school in an unregistered Animagus form. The alarms went off at the Aurors office that an unregistered magical signature had entered the premises and myself and my partner were dispatched to the school grounds.

"The suspect appeared in his human form in front of Draco Malfoy, Headmaster and attempted and failed to steal Mr. Malfoy's wand." The Lieutenant's stoic façade twitched as he continued to speak and tears escaped his dark eyes, unnoticed by him, "He then proceeded to attempt to murder Mr. Malfoy barehanded. Anthony Drilb subdued the suspect after Mr. Malfoy had lost consciousness and a lot of blood." His voice had become rougher and he cleared his throat. "One, Dr. Jennifer Henderson M.D. is working to revive Mr. Malfoy in the Hospital wing now. The suspect has been taken in for questioning."

"Benny," Rose said softly, her voice was comforting, even to Hermione. She stepped forward and touched his shoulder, "Benny why are you up here? Draco is your friend, don't you want to go see him?"

The Lieutenant remained at attention, but there were still tears falling freely from his eyes as he stood there. "I do ma'am. However, if I were to abandon my post to see him, it would not be becoming of my title."

Hermione looked at him for a moment, empathizing with his reliance on order to deal with the situation. "Lieutenant," She said in a commanding tone.

He glanced at her face briefly and said, "Ma'am." Before looking to that fixed spot on the horizon he had been focusing on during his report.

"Please contact your superior and ask them to come immediately." She said, sounding far more confident than she felt. She needed to be strong. She was compassionate innately. That should give her a measure of strength.

Lieutenant Ptyalin nodded curtly and lifted his wand into the air. A pop behind them signaled the arrival of the superior. The Lieutenant said, "Miss Granger, this is Captain Amelia Zanker."

Hermione turned and saw a plain faced brunette walking towards them in the customary Aurors robes. She was nearly as tall as Primrose and stern faced. Hermione thought she might not have a drop of compassion in her entire body. But she would bend to Hermione's will. She thought of how Draco acted when he was nervous. _I need to see him, and so does the Lieutenant. It is going to happen._

"Miss Granger. What is it?"

"Very simply Captain, I would like for Lieutenant Ptyalin to escort me down to Mr. Malfoy's private rooms and brief me there on what has happened this morning. Please send a replacement for his post so that he might do that." She answered. She made her voice stern but not bitchy. She tried to keep the tone mildly respectful, too.

The Captain looked at her for a few seconds and Hermione had just enough time to think the woman would deny her before Captain Zanker answered, "Very well Miss Granger. Please allow a few minutes for the changeover," With a curt nod. She Disapparated from the same spot she had arrived.

Ptyalin wiped his face, looking slightly embarrassed and told Hermione a quiet 'Thank you' before his replacement arrived.

There was a very brief conversation between the two Aurors, but Hermione was not introduced to the short Hispanic man who replaced Ptyalin. When they reached the bottom of the first set of stairs, Ptyalin wrapped his arms around Hermione in a fierce hug and kissed her cheek. "You are such a peach. Can we see Draco before we go down to his rooms?"

Hermione tried not to make a lot of noise as she spoke, "Yes. I don't know if I want to see his rooms for real right now, but I know," She took his large dark hand in both of hers, "That you needed to see him. I do too. Come on."

Rose patted his shoulder and gave him a comforting smile before preceding them into the staircase which would lead to the hospital wing.

When they walked in, the room was silent. Jen was sitting next to Draco and finishing healing a large scratch on his face. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief when she saw his grey eyes open and looking at her. She didn't say anything, she barely registered that there were other people in the room. She felt like she was floating in a dream as she stepped closer to him.

Jen finished and stepped aside, fiddling nervously with her hair, which was out of its curlers, but mussed from her running around and nervous fingers constantly running through it. Rose walked with Hermione and the Lieutenant followed her. When she reached the bed she found her voice and said, "Malfoy."

He smirked arrogantly. "Come on Granger, surely you could say something besides my name."

"How…. What happened?" She asked.

"Well, that was much better. I was beaten to a bloody pulp by some guy." He said, still smirking.

"Obviously. Who?" She said, the world becoming more real as she stared into his eyes.

"I've no idea, Granger. I imagine he had a reason, though."

"Was he the guy who was working with Rowle?" She asked.

He looked surprised, "Why would you think Rowle was working with someone?"

"Well, it's obvious once I realized it, he was much too young to have sent you here. So he must have had a partner. Or took over the mantle from someone else."

"And a genius besides all this beauty. Merlin Draco, you're hogging the second best looking girl in the room," Benjamin said with a wink to Jen. Jen began blushing furiously and messing with her hair once more.

Draco raised his eyebrow at the Lieutenant, "Jen's a genius also. Look, no scars at all. No bruises left. She's an artist with those healing spells."

Jen's blush deepened. "I'll just get you that Pepper-Up Potion, Mr. Malfoy." She turned, embarrassed.

Benjamin looked at Draco with a question on his face and Hermione saw him wiggle his left ring finger subtly. Draco shook his head. Benjamin smiled broadly. Aloud, the Lieutenant said to Draco, "I'm glad you're all right. I was pretty worried."

"Hey, I meant to ask the last time you were here, has Rowle said anything yet?" Draco asked as he began to sit up.

"Silent still," Benjamin answered, watching Jen come around the bed. She handed Draco the potion and told him he was free to go. She began to walk away and the Lieutenant followed her, "Doctor, I think I need a potion too," He said, quickly before she could run away.

She looked up at him where they stood at the end of the bed, with bright green eyes shining out of her tanned face. "What's wrong, Lieutenant?"

He smirked, "Nothing a date couldn't cure, Sunday afternoon picnic- sound good?"

Draco snorted and then swung his feet off the bed, preparing to stand. Hermione took his hand and tried to help. Draco said quietly, so as not to disturb the flirting next to them, "She told me to take my time. I'm fine, Granger. Thanks."

Jen laughed outright, "Is that the best line you've got?"

Benjamin clutched his chest and said, "Now I need something to help my pride recover from a recent blow. Ouch."

Jen laughed again, "How about I prescribe you a dinner date tonight, and you can call me in the morning for a follow-up?"

"Oh, that is so corny," Rose muttered to Hermione.

"Done." Benjamin answered and she wrote down her phone number on a piece of paper she pulled out of her pocket. He leaned in a little close and whispered something to her, which made Jen blush and laugh harder.

Draco finished standing and they went to the cafeteria to finally eat breakfast. Luis was waiting for them in the empty room and made sure they had everything they needed before sitting with them to snack on some breakfast sandwiches he made. Draco filled them in on what they had missed.

"Well, I went to meet Granger for breakfast, around 5:45 or so, but she wasn't here. So I went to her room, and there was a bar of chocolate on the bed, but no Hermione. So, I started looking around for her, asking if anyone had seen her. Jen told me she went in the hospital wing for a pain potion and then she left without mentioning where she was going.

"Right about then, the alarms went off and, of course, the Ward spell kicked in. I started feeling extremely ill, because she was too far away to protect. So, I ordered everyone to quarters and went to go to my own. Anthony followed me down to mine, to help me get around. And then, we saw a lizard change into a man right in front of us. Obviously Animagus, but it was still a shock to see.

"Anyway, Anthony took a bookcase to the head and got knocked unconscious for a few minutes, apparently."

"He's got the worst luck with things falling on him," Luis said around a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich.

Draco chuckled and continued, "He does. Hey, can I have one of those?" Luis nodded and offered him one which was sitting on his plate. Draco took a bite and groaned in happiness. Hermione felt her body take notice, but she ignored it. "So the guy tried to take my wand, but I punched him and he resorted to using his fists.. and feet… and elbows at one point. When Anthony finally was able to restrain him and get the Auror's attention to his location, Jen took a look at me. I was still conscious and bloody hell, the pain…

"Anyway, she told me I had a couple of broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, he cracked one of my hips and I was bleeding from a couple deep gashes he made with a ring he was wearing. He might have thought he was being clever by putting poison on the ring, but Jen figured it out immediately and gave me the antidote." He took another bite of the sandwich and chewed while he thought. "I think that's about it."

A/N: Any reviews? Did everyone stop reading this story? Anyway, Anthony has sone interesting stuff goin' on as a side story coming next. This os going ro be a busy day for our favorite duo!

Seriously though... reviews?


	13. Chapter 13

"I think that's about it," Draco was just finishing saying. He took the final bite of the sandwich Luis had given him.

"So you weren't unconscious?" Benjamin asked, confusion written across his face.

"No, who told you that?" Draco asked with a half- laugh.

The Lieutenant muttered something which might have been a curse at his partner's error, but he said it too low for Hermione to hear clearly. "So who was he?" Hermione asked.

Draco shrugged and looked at Benjamin. The Lieutenant answered in his stead, "We don't know. There's an identification potion, but it's only used for comparison. He's not speaking. We have no leads on who he is or what his relationship is to Rowle."

"Well, what if we went to question them?" Hermione asked quietly.

"What do you mean?" Draco asked. He sounded disturbed by the notion.

She turned to look at him full in the face, "Remember when Rowle was on the floor in your office? He was still and not too reactive. Then when I walked over to have a closer look at his face, he started screaming and trying to wriggle away. The Auror told me it was strange how responsive he was to my presence."

"Yeah," The Lieutenant added, "And ever since he's been in custody, he's been nearly comatose. Nothing comes out of his mouth. I wonder if this other guy is the same. It's not needed though. We have more than enough evidence to lock them up without knowing their reasons for the attacks."

Draco frowned. "The Lieutenant is right you know. We don't have to know why they did it."

Hermione smiled thinly, "But how can you live not knowing the reasons for someone to try to kill us? I can't."

Rose cleared her throat. "And there's something else." Her voice was thin, and she looked worried when everyone looked at her. "Well, we don't know that there's only the two. I mean, Hermione figured out that there was another person Rowle had to be working with, but it was too late. He was already attacking. What if there is someone we don't know about?"

Draco rubbed his face where there had been a long scratch earlier. "Can we arrange that Benny?"

"I'll contact my superiors and see what they want to do. Monday the school reopens?"

"Yes. So I need to speak to them today if possible." Hermione cleared her throat and Draco added with a small smile at her, "And Granger, too I suppose."

Benjamin stood and bid them a pleasant morning before exiting the cafeteria to contact his bosses. Hermione looked at Draco again and realized there was a part of the story she was missing, "Draco. Where's Anthony?" She asked worriedly.

Draco scoffed, "Please. He heard I was going to live and shot back upstairs to his stable just because he has a thunderbird in his care," He rolled his eyes.

Rose looked incredulous, "A thunderbird? For real?"

"That's what he said. Go ask him if you're so inclined, milady." Draco answered, sarcasm dripping from his words.

"Oh, calm down. A thunderbird is a rare creature! There were sightings close to San Antonio just last year! Plus, if you piss one off they are said to shoot lightning from their eyes!" She put her knuckles over her eyes, and wiggled her fingers, demonstrating what it would look like to shoot lightning from her eyes. "How cool is that? I want to see it!" Rose said quickly in her excitement as she was standing.

"Oh, don't let my near death experience be of any consequence to your intellectual pursuits, Rose." Draco said dryly.

Rose looked at him angrily and answered in an icy tone, "I won't, seeing as how you never even lost consciousness. Near death experience, my ass. You're fine, as I can see from your inner asshole coming out. Have a pleasant day, you prick." She walked away without a look back.

Draco seemed angry and stiff while he watched her walking away. Luis was watching Draco with some concern creasing his forehead. Luis said, "Draco. Why is her interest bothering you?"

Draco rubbed his face again, looking like he was trying to figure it out for himself. "I'm not sure. I'm not very happy having such a dangerous creature on the premises. Anthony says it's only going to be here for a few days, just long enough for him to study it briefly. I don't want anyone getting too close to it."

"If you're worried she might get hurt, you might want to show it a little differently. You know how she reacts to anyone challenging her intellect. That's why she got angry." Luis answered in a level voice. He was looking at Draco steadily, but Hermione could feel the tension rolling off the dark skinned man in waves. He seemed to be stuck between wanting to attack Draco and wanting to run after his wife to comfort her.

"Ah, fuck. I didn't even think of that. I better go apologize," Draco answered gruffly. He stood and asked Hermione, "Do you want to come with me?"

Hermione looked at Luis and touched his elbow from across the table. He gave her a little smile and she told him, "You don't need any help down here?"

Luis smiled a bit more believably and told her, "No, that's alright. I'll be up in a few minutes. Hell, I want to see the bird too."

She nodded and stood next to Draco. She took his arm again and gave him a grin which he returned. He preceded her up the stairs and she took his arm again at the top.

"I was only trying to be funny." Draco said quietly. "Sometimes Rose is very sensitive about her brain. Have you noticed that?"

"Yes. She told me earlier the reasons for it." Hermione answered in a low voice.

He smiled thinly. "She's a hard person wrapped in thousands of layers of protections against her past. I don't think it's a bad thing, but…" He looked off in the distance as they exited the Mission into the warm sunlight. "Sometimes it's hard to remember everything that will set her off. Luis is such a great compliment for her."

"I agree. They are so mad about one another. It's a beautiful thing," Hermione said with a smile.

"Why Granger, are you secretly a romantic?"

"I think every girl is at some level," She answered with a blush.

"A romantic who wants her man to tie her up in the privacy of their bedroom, such a contrasting set of ideals." He commented sarcastically with a smirk.

She grinned, "Problem with either one?"

He leaned over and kissed her on the top of her head, "Never. They match with my own ideals."

"Yeah?" She asked, hoping he would elaborate.

He stopped her and pulled her against him as he leaned against the wall of the Mission. His arms were wrapped around her waist and he tucked her head under his chin as he told her, "Indeed. My perfect date is a candlelit dinner, maybe some dancing and wine and soft music in the background." He roughly grabbed her hair and tilted her head so she had to look up at him, "Then when I get the girl alone in the bedroom, tie her up and use my belt to my heart's content. I should think she would never stop coming back for more, but alas, she only wants to talk of late. She backs away from my affections. What is a man to do?"

Hermione's nipples were hard and she knew she was done for already. Why would she have wanted to deny him? Now she had no choice but celibacy for a week. How would she survive his random flare ups? He was waiting for her to respond and his face was still so tense in waiting for her answer. "Draco, it's not you."

His eyes hardened and he looked truly angry, "I have the best night of my life with you and you're willing to throw it away already?"

"What?" She was so confused. What the hell was he talking about? Then it suddenly dawned on her what he must think. He was releasing her hair and was about to push her away from him, ready for her to break up with him. "No, Draco." She grabbed his shoulders and pulled him down to her. She kissed him gently and his tense response confirmed that he believed she was going to tell him she was leaving, regardless of what she had meant. "Draco, listen to me." She whispered against his lips.

He put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her away from him. "You want it to be over, just tell me. I can read the signs." She was shocked to hear his voice crack as he said the last word. When she looked up at him, he had tears welling up in his eyes, but his chin was raised in defiance.

"I _do not_ want it to be over." She said forcefully. He stopped moving, she thought he looked so still he might have even stopped breathing and merely looked at her, confused. She continued, "I like you a lot. Stop thinking I'm trying to end it- just because of my damn monthly." She snapped.

He blinked and looked at her steadily. "What?"

"Merlin Draco, who the hell would ever deny you? Seriously, you may be an arrogant, conceited prat, but when it comes to what has happened between us, you have every right to be." His eyebrow raised and she saw him starting to regain his natural confidence in both his stance and his expression. "I've been backing away because of my cycle. That's it. It would be cruel for me to tease you, isn't that what you said? So I haven't been, and here you are thinking I'm going to end it." She shook her head.

He sighed. "I sound like Rose right now don't I? Jumping to conclusions."

"Indeed you do. Weren't you going to apologize to her?" She answered.

He pulled her back towards him and kissed her chastely with his hands on her shoulders. "You're right of course. I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions."

He pulled her around the corner with more of a bounce in his step. Maybe he had been irritated because he perceived her actions as a precursor to her breaking up with him. He was acting mildly childish in her opinion, but she could understand his reaction. She had been putting a lot of space between them over the last few days, but unintentionally. This was just another step toward understanding each other, she reasoned.

There was a loud clap of thunder and they heard Rose laughing as it rolled over the valley. Hermione met Draco's silvery eyes and with a grin he started to pull her into a run to get to the entrance to the stable. She found herself laughing as she chased after him and eager to see this creature for herself.

Thunderbirds, she knew, were called by another name in her own country, but for some strange reason had little control over the weather as their American cousins were reported to. But Rocs, the cousin to the thunderbird, had been extinct for a few hundred years, with no reported sightings anywhere in Europe in nearly a century. Even the Wizarding community had nearly forgotten them in the generations since the last sighting.

The only reason Hermione knew anything about them was because of an Artifact Dispute she had mitigated a few years before where the owner of a Roc fossilized egg had demanded a higher price after the deal had been completed. Evidence showed in that case that the Wizard actually had a Thunderbird egg and the sale had been dropped, leaving the Wizard with a worthless egg and her fees for the two days of arguing she had heard.

The stable door was open and she focused on what she would soon see behind it. She heard Rose laugh again and they could smell ozone. Anthony was saying something and then they heard the rich tones of a man's voice with a heavy accent, which they did not recognize. Luis was coming from the other side of the building and dusting off his hands when the stranger's voice had escaped the open door. Luis' head tilted to the side and he looked at Draco, puzzled.

Draco dropped her hand and touched his wand as he peeked around the corner of the door. He looked back at them, seemed about to say something, frowned, and turned back to the scene inside the stable. Then he did the same thing again. On the third time, Hermione decided that she wanted to see for herself, so she rolled her eyes and shoved Draco lightly out of the way.

Stepping into the shaded interior from the outside left her temporarily blinded as her pupils readjusted. Neither Rose nor Anthony said anything to her, and neither did the stranger. They were laughing about something.

Her eyes readjusted and she was met with the image of a tall brown skinned man wearing naught but a feathered headdress attached to a feathered cloak in many colors and a pair of dark brown leather underwear. He was amazingly handsome, so much so that her breath caught in her throat. He was holding Rose's hand in his own and stroking along the inner line of her forearm, in a similar manner to how Draco had when they were pretending to have a discussion to avoid looking at Rowle in his Anthony suit. He was whispering something to her through his full lips and looking down at her blushing face with adoration written all over his face. He had not noticed Hermione, nor Luis and Draco's entrance to the stable.

Luis' face darkened in rage and he growled out, "Primrose," While his fists clenched.

Rose looked over at him and her eyes seemed to clear as she looked at him. "Hi, Honey," She said, sounding like she had never uttered the words before. She sounded like she was half-asleep to Hermione.

The tall man squared his shoulders defensively and clutched Rose's arm closer to him, Hermione could see the indentations of his fingers in her soft flesh. "Has this man some claim on my woman?" He asked in his strangely accented baritone.

"Your woman?" Luis asked, prickling in anger.

Rose tried to remove her hand from the man to go speak to her husband, but the tall man refused to release her. When she looked at him again, she seemed to come back under his spell and relaxed next to him. When she looked mildly over at Luis, she re-tensed and tried to get away from him.

Anthony answered, "She's come under his spell, Luis. This is the Thunderbird, in his human form, Cow-ah-cha-ini." He pronounced each syllable carefully. "He is not going to hurt her," He said, attempting to soothe the shorter man. "Are you Cow-ah-cha-ini?" Hermione had absolutely no idea what the name meant, only that it was amazing to hear. She wondered about how it would sound coming out of her mouth, in the ecstasy of orgasm.

His voice, she realized as he answered Anthony, was as amazing to hear as his name, "Never will I harm such a creature. She is made of ice and fire and belongs with me in the heavens above this land."

"But, Cow-ah-cha-ini, she is married already to this man," Anthony continued, still sounding amused.

The Thunderbird looked between Rose and Luis, and suddenly released Rose's arm. "I have not come to take what is yours, my brother." Suddenly, Hermione felt herself regarding the Thunderbird as a specimen, rather than a hunky guy who was barely clad in front of her. "We have ways to make women make families with us. It has been too long since I have had sons and daughters to laugh with," He finished, puffing his chest out as he finished. "I shall pray you know that joy soon with your exotic bride."

"When they have your sons and daughters, are they Thunderbirds as well?" Hermione asked.

The man regarded her for a moment, his eyes piercing and unblinking. She was reminded of an owl as he looked at her face and then her body. He examined her slowly and a smile started to form on his face as he did so. She felt as though the clothing she was wearing was too much and wanted to remove them so he might examine her better. With that thought, the room seemed to heat up and she felt like she might be blushing.

He blinked his large storm-grey eyes and there was a clap of thunder, she found herself half-fainted in the stranger's arms and laughing, happier than she had ever been in her life. This stranger, she knew, would give her many strong children and care for her for the rest of her life. The primal part of her being started taking over, and she left her Hermione mask behind as she explored being a woman, and a woman only.

He was holding her easily in one arm and gently brushing back her air with the other, caressing her with his voice, "Woman who is made of the moon's love and honey dropped from the god's own pot. Your voice is like the coolest water upon my heated brow. Shall I take you away from these people and love you for all time? I care not if you are on your moon's blood, when her time comes to smile on you again, you shall not have to accept her blessings. For mine shall be deep within you and a son growing in this smooth belly."

Draco cleared his throat when the bird paused for breath again, "Cow-ah-cha-ini, she is my woman." He said in a patient voice.

The bird nuzzled to her neck and smelled at the area where Draco had recently been resting his lips. He stood her back up and steadied her while his magic was removing itself from around her. "I have not come to take what is yours, my friend."

Hermione felt awkward. She would have loved to be a woman with no name, only descriptions of her beauty for the rest of her life. Was it his magic, or was it what she really wanted? She was unsure if she would ever find out which it was. Although, she wondered if it might be the basis of why she depended on her submissive role in order to be satisfied sexually. The thought of losing her Hermione mask for even a little while was comforting. Luis' voice brought her back to the present and out of her musings before she could explore any further into what attracted her to the Thunderbird's influence over her.

"Why do you call him 'friend' and me 'brother'?" Luis asked, his brow creased. He was holding Rose tightly around the waist and she was rubbing his shoulder with her arm wrapped around him.

The man-shaped Thunderbird looked at Luis, unblinking for a second and then answered, "For you come of my lands and he does not. Your nose is of my fathers, your ears as well. Your people are descended from the same as I, as surely as the moon is our loving mother."

Luis looked equally shocked and puzzled by his answer. "Did your father have a wife in Mexico?"

"Many and many over his blessed life." The Thunderbird seemingly never blinked, and it disturbed Hermione slightly, although she could not say why.

"And are all of his sons and daughters Thunderbirds?" Luis asked, wanting an answer to Hermione's question as well.

"Not all." He shifted his cloak of feathers on his shoulders slightly. "I wish to fly." He pulled the cloak over his shoulders and he seemed to hunch down and look at the ground. Hermione realized that he wasn't hunching, but rather seemed to have transformed into his bird shape so quickly she had missed the entire thing.

He raised his bird head and the man one under his neck was gone. In its place was a white outline of his brow over his bird chest. He gave a loud shriek and they watched him walk easily out but had to duck through the door of the stables to take flight. The sun, just as suddenly, seemed to go behind a cloud and all five of them raced to see him in flight. They circled around the middle of the cracked earth which was beaten down after many years of horses and students trampling over whatever vegetation might have grown there.

The sky had gone from bright and clear to low grey clouds in the wake of the bird's flight. A loud clap of thunder sounded again, along with a bolt of lightning. They heard his call again just before he broke from the clouds with his many colored feathers shining bright against the dark grey of the storm he created. The red feathers of his body and parts of his wings seemed aflame and the blues and yellows of the tips of his wings reminded them of the sun and clear sky poking through the shifting clouds. He was beautiful as a bird.

They stayed like that until the clouds cracked open and rain came pouring down on their upturned faces. They ran for shelter in the stable and discussed what had just happened.

Anthony told them, excitedly, "He tried to mate with both of you, why would that be? I wonder if his mating rituals are always like that? Oh I have so much to learn from him!"

Luis answered, "How would you do that? He doesn't seem all that interested to talk."

"He does to you, Luis," Anthony said, seriously.

"No way. He tried to take my wife as his own!"

"And he thinks you're his brother! He wouldn't try to take something from his brother!"

"Why did he think you two were related? Is it possible?" Hermione asked.

"Well, I guess it is. My father's from a pureblooded family. Their ancestry has never been tainted by European blood." He was looking away, as though embarrassed. Hermione had a good view of his profile and noticed how the bridge of his nose and its' shape matched the human form of the Thunderbird. It was strange, although she had seen his face for only a few moments, it seemed burned into her brain. Never had she seen someone so attractive, but she pushed his face from her mind roughly. She didn't need to think about him anymore. At all.

Delicately, Hermione asked, "Does he have a problem with Rose, then?"

Luis' eyes darkened in anger, "He does, but seeing as I'm the third son, he can disown me without me losing anything."

"He didn't!" Hermione gasped.

"He tried. My mother convinced him not to and put it in their divorce settlement that he couldn't do it as part of their agreement."

Hermione frowned, "I've never heard of something like that in a divorce decree."

"She had her lawyer put it in, so he can't go back on it later, something, whatever, why are we talking about me? There's a thunderbird flying around outside!" He seemed a bit uncomfortable.

"Right," Draco said, looking at Rose. "I nearly forgot, Rose, I'm sorry that I made you angry earlier, I didn't mean it the way you took it."

She looked at him and laughed, "Shit, I had forgotten why I was even mad at you."

They laughed while Anthony was checking on the horses for a moment. Draco said, "We need to get back to find out about what Benny can do for us about interviewing the two men who attacked the Mission. Shall we?" He offered his arm to Hermione and she took it.

A/N: Ok, a bit short, but I'm so overdue I want to post it. Such a busy weekend! I hadn't anticipated having to run all over town this weekend. Sorry! I'm so so sorry!

Reviews?

Let me just apologize once more for my irregular schedule when it comes to updates. And thanks so much to each and every one of you for being patient through this. I'll try to be better. I have one more chapter already written, and hopefully I'll have time next week to write some more.


	14. Chapter 14

Hermione and Draco walked back into the Mission in the warm rain, chatting amiably about the Thunderbird, speculating on whether there was any use in his feathers or blood or tears in potion-making, then they moved on to speculating on Wand properties he might be able to help them with. Draco teased her a bit about how she had acted in front of the Thunderbird, but Hermione wondered aloud if Anthony's research would be fit for publication and asked if there were any books she might find to explain their mythology in the Americas. Draco- smirking, answered her question rather than continue his jests- informed her that there were several hundred books which might interest her, but he only had access to a few.

Landon was in the pews again with his head bent and hands clasped, so they passed him in silence so as not to disturb him. He called out to them just before they entered the stairwell, however, "May I speak to you, Mr. Malfoy," He said in an icy politeness.

Draco looked at Hermione and kissed her cheek before telling her, "I'll catch up with you in a while."

She gave him a smile and then proceeded down the stairs before her. She decided to go to her room and change since she had gotten wet in the rain outside. She marveled again about the Thunderbird, amazed that she had the opportunity to see such a rare creature. She looked through the clothes which Rose had given her and at the ones she had ordered via owl which had arrived the day before. She decided to wear a gold colored cami from Rose and a grey skirt which had come from the magical shop with gold thread in a diamond pattern.

After she changed, she spelled her hair dry and thought about Draco for a while. He was right, she saw, now that she was thinking of it from his perspective. She did seem to be pushing him away. She blushed as she suddenly remembered being in the Thunderbird's arms. How foolish she must have looked! His man-form really was gorgeous, but she couldn't believe that she had fallen into his arms without sparing a thought for her…. Boyfriend. And how happy she had been to do so! Was it a part of the magic around him?

She remembered him saying that Thunderbirds had their ways of making women their bride. She remembered the attraction that Veela were said to have, and that she had witnesses at the Quiddich world championship. Ron had nearly climbed over the railing to fall to his death just to be near them. Suddenly she remembered Draco being in the woods that night, telling Ron and Harry that she needed to be protected, since she was Muggleborn. Her brow creased as she thought back on it. _I don't think I ever spared that a second thought, it certainly sounded like his normal veiled threats, but now…_ She rolled her eyes at her own thoughts, that same year he… had been nearly silent about her heritage. She was overthinking it.

Dismissing the thought, she went to the loo. Closing the door after she had finished, she decided to explore the library again and look up Thunderbirds.

A few minutes later she stood in front of a twin set of shiny wooden doors. They looked similar to the doors in front of Draco's private rooms but without so much decoration on their polished surfaces. These doors had a small scene depicting Native Americans wearing their simple garb accepting books from what looked like overly fashioned Spaniards. The split in the door was between the Spaniard who was furthest forward and the rest of his countrymen. The Europeans were wearing puffy shouldered jerkins and slightly pointed helmets, all of them with identical expressions of wonder at the men before them.

Hermione wondered for a moment why the artist had decided to split the door where it was before she saw the immense library in front of her and forgot the door completely. Hogwarts' library had been massive, but the Mission's library seemed large enough to contain every book ever written. The ceiling was three stories above her with floor to ceiling shelves and walkways supported by wires magically attached to the shelves.

She marveled at it, mouth agape and barely breathing. She had not given much thought to how wide the Mission must spread out, but she wondered if it didn't cover the entire valley above. She couldn't see the back of the library, since most of the lights were dimmed.

She absently stepped forward and a bank of lights lit in front of her. She blinked in surprise and took another few steps forward and the next set of lights turned on. She realized with a smile the lights were charmed to only light the area around where the visitor was, or possibly motion-activated Muggle technology so as to not waste energy.

She spent the next few hours wandering around and getting thoroughly lost amongst the shelves without a care to how she would ever eat again. Her mind was buzzing to and fro with information and amazement.

She finally decided to sit down at one of the many study tables scattered about the enormous room and read about Thunderbirds when she heard a tentative voice calling her name, "Miss Granger?" The voice seemed small and worried.

She looked around and didn't see anyone. Frowning she called out, "Hello?"

A large squashy stomach preceded the Potions instructor as he rounded a row of books before her. He gave her a toothy grin before saying, "Well, Miss Granger, found you at last."

She smiled slightly, nervous about being near this man. He wasn't exactly rude, if anything his politeness was worrisome. It gave the unsuspecting a sense of security and with what Rose had warned her about him, she knew better than to fall into his traps. "Hello, Al. What do you mean at last?"

"Well," He began with a flourish and sat across from her. "I've been trying to find you alone since early this week. It's my understanding that your interest in Potions goes far beyond most Witches' and Wizards. Is that true or shall I have to have words with my informants?" He gave a small tittering laugh as he finished.

She tried not to let her expression change from polite interest, and answered in a polite tone much the same as his own, "Why yes, it is quite true that I have a deep love of Potions. Why ever would you ask, Al?"

He smiled, seemingly showing all of his teeth and she was reminded of a shark's grin. His happiness did not extend to his eyes. "Well, Miss Granger, may I call you Hermione?" She nodded, reminding herself that the names business in England was nonexistent in America. "Well, Hermione, such a beautiful name, by the way. I have need of a research assistant in my labs, if you are still looking for something to occupy your time while you are in the Mission."

She thought about it for a moment. Al had been a mild thorn in Draco's side since she had arrived. She might be able to find reason to like him, despite what Rose had said about his gossiping. She wondered about the information which Rose had mentioned about how Al hated Draco, and he was threatening to leave if Draco remained Headmaster. She wondered if he had some angle which he was trying to play at. What would he have to gain from having Hermione in his labs? If he were crazy enough, the ability to poison her if he was so inclined. _Or to slip Veritaserum in something he might give to me to try and get information about Draco._ She wondered if he were capable of doing something like that. He might be. Especially if he were trying to get rid of Draco.

Finally, she answered, "I should like some time to consider, Al. Is that all right with you?"

She saw the briefest of frowns cross his features and then it vanished. "Yes of course, Hermione. No problem. Just don't take too much time, I have Thunderbird feathers, blood and tears to examine for their properties. Anthony, you know him don't you? A wonderful man, but if you're not with Mr. Malfoy, I'd be worried about him, he's gay you know. He's always talking about getting Draco into bed. It's quite disgusting, really."

She faked a smile while she thought that he was an asshole. He continued, uncaring of her opinion on the matter, "Well, Anthony has a Thunderbird in his possession at the moment. Apparently the thing went free or something and caused a torrential downpour, can you hear the thunder down here?" He paused as though listening. Hermione realized she quite disliked this man. "No I suppose you can't." He sounded disappointed.

"Well, anyway, there hasn't been a Thunderbird in captivity for a good long while, and we don't really know what their properties are. So as soon as he told me of _course_ I begged him to give me a few samples. He had the audacity to tell me he would only ask for them, can you believe? Asking an animal for permission to have some samples." He was looking to his left as he said this, but faced her suddenly as he said, "Too bad I'm not as attractive as Mr. Malfoy else he would have given them to me without a thought." He smirked. "But I suppose it has its advantages, you know. Then those fags can leave me alone." Hermione felt her eyebrows shoot up before she could control her face's reaction.

"Isn't that an offensive term, Al?" She asked, so she could cover her surprise.

He pretended to be interested in something just over her shoulder and obviously looked at her from the corners of his eyes, "To some," He answered, evasively.

She bit her cheek to stop herself from grinning triumphantly. He was not nearly as smart as he thought he was. She recognized that he was testing boundaries, finding things which would make her angry and was not very good at hiding his intentions. She could run circles around him when it came to getting information out of people in conversation. He focused on the term, and had not noticed at all how she had reacted to his 'asking for permission' comment earlier. She had remembered that horrid woman Umbridge, suddenly, and she was certain she had grimaced when he made that comment.

Before she could say anything, he continued, "And to pass on such a beautiful Witch, besides, what is our Headmaster thinking? Has he tried and you turned him down perhaps?" She opened her mouth to respond and excuse herself from his presence which was growing more repulsive the longer he was before her, but he continued. "No, I can see the anger in your face. Let's leave the conversation for now. What training have you had in Potion making?"

Finally, he had stopped speaking so that she might answer, but the swift change in topics had caught her a little off guard. She answered, "I was an apprentice to several Wizards in England. I can give you a list if I decide to accept the position. However, what exactly will you be researching?" She decided to ignore his unusual questioning and repulsive nature. She had worked with men who were much more repulsive than he was. He seemed unable to not think aloud once he started going. She could just learn to ignore it.

"Why the properties of Thunderbird tears, feathers, and blood, I said already. I think there might be some hidden magical properties which we don't know about yet. I'm especially interested in using them for love and lust potions, given what Anthony told me about their-" But he was cut short when they both heard Draco calling her name.

"Over here, Draco!" She called, grateful to get away from this man, or at least have someone else present. She saw the lights turning on as Draco followed the sound of her voice.

When he came around the corner a few seconds later, his displeasure at finding her talking to Al was evident, to her at least. Al seemed unconcerned and greeted Draco like an old friend, despite having just suggested he was possibly in a homosexual relationship with Anthony not a few moments before. "Why Headmaster, how are you doing on this fine, stormy afternoon?"

Draco glanced at Hermione before answering and she had a distinct impression that he was as annoyed as she was at the Potions professor. "It is a wonderful day for a swim, now, Al," He drawled. She was beginning to learn that when he used that tone it was to cover up his true attitude. That one and that icy politeness when it was someone he needed to show respect towards. Apparently, he did not feel the need to be respectful toward Al, though.

"Has it really rained so much?" Al inquired jovially. He seemed totally uncaring about how Draco spoke to him.

"Indeed it has. Granger will be most displeased to know that I must break up your conversation, which was no doubt illuminating, to take her to the Auror's Headquarters." He had crossed his arms over his chest as he said her name and was now looking at her expectantly.

She smiled thinly and answered while standing, "Certainly. It was pleasant to speak with you, Al. I'll give your offer some thought and give you an answer as soon as is possible."

Al grinned broadly at her and bid her a pleasant afternoon. She took Draco's arm in what was becoming a totally normal way to walk, with a smile at him. He still had his arms crossed at first when she took his elbow, and she saw his expression soften when he looked down at her. He brushed his thumb over her knuckles and then lowered his other arm so they were walking normally.

Once the carved door slid shut behind them, Draco's expression changed dramatically from a polite mask to cold fury. "So, having a pleasant chat, Granger?" He practically hissed.

"He asked me to be his research assistant while he looks into the properties of the Thunderbird samples," She answered without emotion in her voice. He probably worried about how Al would be using the information he suspected her of giving, the Slytherin prat. "Aside from trying to make me tell him if we were together, and failing miserably at it, he talked about the Thunderbird's potential to his research. Nothing to worry about, Draco."

She saw that he was relaxing as they walked. He wasn't that complicated to read, now that she was getting used to his dramatic shifts in personality when he was worried about something. To others, his moods might be terrifying, but she was beginning to learn that he only showed his true emotions when he felt unthreatened. With her, he was unthreatened, so he didn't hold anything back. She was much the same way, really.

She saw his brow creasing as he thought, he asked, "It's my understanding he was planning on leaving the school in protest of my appointment. Did he say anything about that?"

"No, he seemed…" She reached for a term which would adequately describe the Potions teacher and upon finding one, finished, "Excited more than anything." She watched him relax minutely and decided to chance making him laugh as they continued walking toward the top floor of the Mission. "And he told me to watch out for Anthony, as he might steal you away from me," She told him in a whisper.

He laughed, "Did he call Anthony a fag and watch you from the corner of his eyes to see your reaction?"

She smiled and nodded when he looked at her. Thunder boomed through the top floor and there was a steady hard rain outside. When they entered the Mission, it was empty and dark. It looked rather ominous in the streaks of lightning coming through the glassless windows and the floor was wet from the frantic winds bringing the rain inside. Beyond the windows, all Hermione could see was darkness and she wondered if she had ever seen a storm of this one's equal.

Draco leaned toward her ear and shouted over the rain, "I have made a temporary Apparition point, Side-Along, will you, Granger?" She nodded and clutched his arm tighter. Since she hated Side-Along Apparition, she closed her eyes and allowed him to lead her a few steps forward. She felt the pull at her navel and suddenly the sounds of the storm were gone.

In their place were the muted sounds of heels clicking on tile and quiet voices. She opened her eyes and saw several Aurors walking around purposefully behind the over-large desk in front of them. There was a severely pretty young black woman who was looking at them from her seat. She had something like a telephone headset over her curly black hair and was speaking into the microphone with a perfectly manicured finger held out to them. She smiled as she spoke and reached toward the modified telephone to apparently end the call. She picked up a pen and wrote something down as she said, "Name and Auror you are meeting?" To them.

Draco answered with his name and her eyes widened in recognition. She took a closer look at him and her smile went from her mild professional mask to a face of real pleasure. Before Draco could say Hermione's name, the young woman said, "Of course. I'll call ahead. They are expecting you in Interview Room 4, do you remember where that is?"

Draco smirked and answered in the affirmative. He gave the girl a wink before linking his fingers with Hermione's and leading her down a few hallways. Hermione was pondering why the Aurors always reacted to his name with instant respect and having a mental debate about asking him about it- to avoid thinking about how every woman Draco came into contact with seemed to want to flirt with him. When she saw Lieutenant Benjamin Ptyalin, he was standing at attention in front of a door with a small sign labeling the room 'Interview Room 4'.

The Lieutenant nodded to them and opened the door without a word. She smiled at him regardless and he gave her a sneaky wink as she passed. Head Auror Avery was scowling and looking through a glass partition to the right of the entranceway. He glanced over when the door clicked and said, "Good afternoon. Rowle first, is that alright with you?"

Draco told him yes and asked Avery about the security procedures they would need to know.

Avery's eyes flicked to Hermione and he gave a small smile while he answered, "He is unable to stand, due to his restraints. Do not get within his arms reach, preferably, stay on the other side of the table. One at a time, if you don't mind. Miss Granger can be accompanied by an Auror if she so wishes," He looked at Hermione fully as he said this.

"I would not think he would speak if there was someone in the room. Let's try it without." She said, thoughtfully.

Avery seemed to size her up for a moment before saying, "Very well. Ladies first?" He was smirking.

She realized he was issuing a challenge to her bravery and her chin rose in defiance immediately. She was a Gryffindor for heaven's sake, she had no shortness of bravery. She opened her mouth to speak without thinking about what would come out of it, "Indeed ladies first. Avery, do you need my wand before I enter, I'm quite adept at wandless magic if I need it."

Avery's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "I'll accept it. What do they teach you Brits, eh?" She handed it over and glanced at Draco, who was grinning. She took a deep breath and looked through the glass partition before her.

On the other side was Rowle seated at a silver table with chains on his wrists and a glass of water on the table in front of him. His eyes were focused on the glass, but he had no expression whatsoever. The glaring whiteness of the room, she suspected, was even brighter on the other side, since she reckoned the glass was really a two-way mirror. She made a list in her mind of all the questions she planned on asking in the few seconds she looked at him.

Avery sniffled beside her and she started to walk toward the door just beside the glass which opened into the room where Rowle was seated. She placed her hand on the knob and then suddenly turned and asked Avery, "Does he know we have his partner in custody?"

Avery shook his head in a negative with an eyebrow raised. She nodded and turned the knob.

A/N: Ok, I'm stopping it short so next chapter we can get the whole conversation, without having to break. Just some set up. This is where the writer's block happened. So this is the last chapter I have written, but I plan on writing more over the coming week, assuming that bitch of a muse will cooperate.

So I'm expecting two more chapters of plot stuff- including some answers to lots of questions I'm sure everyone has- with a time jump somewhere up ahead and then maybe some sexytimes. This has been a pretty tame story so far, but I am loving my invented school!

I also have a few other stories I may post, just for the editing to try and tempt the muse when she leaves, the rotten bitch.

**_REVIEWS?! I love reading what you guys think!_**


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